In vitro and in vivo effects of potassium and magnesium on storage up to 7 days of apheresis platelet concentrates in platelet additive solution

Background and Objective Prolonged storage of platelets up to 7 days provides improved availability, logistical management and decreased wastage. Beside methods of bacterial detection, addition of magnesium and potassium to the platelet storage solution (SSP+) may further improve the quality of platelets with extended storage. Materials and Methods Apheresis platelets from 10 donors were divided and stored in two different platelet additive solutions (PAS) (Intersol and SSP+) for a paired comparison. A variety of in vitro platelet function and metabolic assays were performed both on day 1 and after 7 days of storage. For in vivo study, platelets were labelled with either 111Indium or 51Chromium after 7 days of storage and were injected into the corresponding donor. Serial blood samples were drawn for recovery and survival measurements. Results In vitro parameters for SSP+ showed significantly reduced glycolysis (lower glucose consumption and decreased production of lactate), a higher hypotonic shock response (HSR) and the extent of shape change reactivity and a lower degree of platelet activation by means of RANTES (regulated on activation, normal, T cell‐expressed, and secreted), CD62p and CD63 expression. Platelet recovery on day 7 was higher for Intersol as compared to SSP+, 65 ± 11 vs. 53 ± 13% (P = 0·023), and survival showed no difference 4·2 ± 1·9 vs. 3·6 ± 1·4 days. Conclusion In vitro characteristics of platelets stored in PAS with addition of potassium and magnesium indicated higher quality, but this could not be verified by the in vivo parameters by means of recovery and survival.