Effect of Storage on Sheep Erythrocytes Used in Complement Studies

Summary Sheep erythrocytes stored for periods up to 4 weeks in modified Alsever's solution exhibited significant and progressive increases in susceptibility to immune hemolysis in assays conducted with a constant source of human C′. Moreover, the increased susceptibility to immune hemolysis closely paralleled the changes of osmotic fragility and a tendency to undergo spontaneous lysis. The findings suggested an intrinsic relationship between immune hemolysis and osmotic fragility. It was noted that cells stored longer than 3 weeks in modified Alsever's solution could be unduly fragile and hypersensitive to immune lysis thus rendering them unsuitable for serologic tests.