[Storage of thrombocyte concentrates: quality control by in vitro bleeding test].

Background: The increasing demand for single-donor platelet concentrates necessitates the storage of these blood products prior to transfusion. Quality control of these platelets, however, is still a problem. Most of the available techniques are time-consuming and require sophisticated equipment and specifically trained personnel. The present paper describes a new method for quality control of stored platelet concentrates.
Materials and Methods: Single-donor platelet concentrates were stored for 7 days; daily aliquots were taken and the in vitro bleeding time (Thrombostat 4000) and platelet aggregation (aggregometer) were determined.
Results: The in vitro bleeding test can be handled simply and fast. The results are comparable with those of platelet aggregation tests.
Conclusion: The in vitro bleeding test provides a good alternative to the conventional methods commonly used for quality control of platelet concentrates.