Quality control of leucoreduced cellular blood components in France.

Background and Objectives Since 1 April 1998, all cellular blood components in France have been leucoreduced. The current French standard is < 1 × 10[sup 6] white blood cells (WBC) per unit with a 95% confidence that at least 97% of units will meet this standard. Materials and methods Quality control (QC) data for leucoreduced cellular blood components were collected from the 41 French blood centres over a 5-month period. Conformance to the standard was determined using a non-parametric approach. Results More than 98% of the 15 286 red cell concentrates and of the 2895 platelet concentrates tested had < 1 × 10[sup 6] WBC per unit. One filtration device gave unsatisfactory results and its use was discontinued. Conclusion This QC survey shows an overall compliance with the standard. The data illustrate the practical value of identifying devices or centres with consistent QC problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]