Differential leucocyte subpopulation analysis of leucodepleted red cell products

Donor leucocytes are responsible for many adverse transfusion effects. Clinical reactions may be attributed to specific leucocyte subsets. In this study leucocyte subpopulations were identified and quantified pre‐ and post‐leucodepletion by integral filtration using novel Optipac® configurations incorporating either WBF‐1 (Pall Medsep) or RS2000 (Asahi) whole blood filters. Leucocytes were analysed by flow cytometry using direct, four‐colour, membrane immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies specific for CD 3, 14, 16, 19 and 45. Filtration reduced the leucocyte load by 3–4 log10, consistently giving products with