Storage of whole blood before separation

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The blood, after it has been collected, must be stored under specific conditions, from the place where the blood donation is collected to the preparation service.  

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The preservation of blood products must guarantee therapeutic efficacy for the patient and reduce bacterial risks. For this, blood donations are kept between 18°C and 24°C when they are sent in less than 24 hours. This temperature makes it possible to preserve the flexibility of the red blood cells, which will prevent their deterioration during deleukocytation, to avoid the alteration of the platelets and will make it possible to reduce the bacterial risk, because the phagocytes of the blood donor will always be active to destroy the possible germs from the pocket.

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Unfortunately, at this temperature, the level of 2-3 DPG which allows the transfer of oxygen from the red blood cells decreases more rapidly than at 4°C, as does the ATP which allows the membrane integrity of the red blood cells to be maintained.

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When the products are processed by the preparation department within 24 hours, the interest of storing the products at 18°C to 24°C takes precedence over storing them at 4°C. On the other hand, when transport exceeds 24 hours, it is preferable to keep the products at 2°C to 6°C, so as not to have a level of 2-3 DPG that is too low and a too significant reduction in the membrane integrity of the red blood cells, which would decrease therapeutic efficacy.