FIGURE 1.

Coagulation properties of PRBCs are progressively impaired during storage. PRBCs from blood donated by 12 healthy volunteers were stored for up to 6 weeks. (A) Aliquots were removed weekly and tested for the percentage of erythrocytes that had undergone hemolysis (top panel) or that exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) (bottom panel), respectively. Analyses were performed using repeated-measures-ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparison. Significant changes from base values (week 0) are indicated for p < 0.05 *, p < 0.01 **, p < 0.001 *** and p < 0.0001 ****. (B) In weeks 2, 4 and 6, aliquots drawn from PRBC units were recombined with autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) prepared from fresh blood donations and tested by thromboelastometry applying both INTEM and EXTEM assays. Clotting times (CT) and clot formation times (CFT) are shown in Box Whisker blots with mean values indicated by crosses. Statistically significant differences were assessed by paired t-tests and indicated by stars (*p ≤ 0.05). Numerical values of the data in Figure 1B are given in Table 1.