Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune Advances New Blood Platelet Collection Technology

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (NNS) -- Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune (NHCL) is setting a medical precedence as the first Department of Defense military treatment facility (MTF) to collect blood platelets through a collection process introduced in December 2010, using two key advances in medical science and technology.

The AMICUS Separator, a state-of-the-art piece of blood platelet collection equipment, and InterSol, a new, Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved platelet additive solution (PAS), are new to the military medicine community, and the medical community at large. NHCL is only the second hospital in the nation to process blood products with these technologies.

With the apheresis program on-going in NHCL's Blood Donor Center, the program has recently proven its advantages in safety, donor participation and blood product collection.

To date, approximately 30 donors have donated blood platelets, and each collection has exceeded the donation quality standards, allowing the center confidently confirm the success of the program, and more importantly, to transfuse the collected products to NHCL patients.

"The program began with leadership, who identified the need for apheresis platelet collections and challenged the Blood Donor Center to start up a program," said Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Hoiles, director, Blood Donor Center.

During an apheresis collection, the AMICUS Separator extracts whole blood from the donor's arm and sends the blood through sterile tubing into a centrifuge. The centrifuge then spins the blood until it separates into three components: red cells, plasma and platelets.

Following the donation, the donor's blood platelets are suspended in a mix of 65 percent InterSol and 35 percent plasma. This is the most significant difference from traditional apheresis collection processes in which platelets are suspended in 100 percent plasma.

This new process gives the donor and the center the options to donate and collect multiple blood products in a single donation. And the reduced volume of plasma in the platelet product allows for a host of benefits to the platelet transfusion recipient and to the blood center.

"By storing platelets in the platelet additive solution, we are able to collect platelets and collect more plasma into a second container," said Hoiles. "Then we can store the platelets for NHCL patients, freeze the plasma, and ship the plasma to the operational theater."

For the platelet transfusion recipient, the suspension mix reduces the risk of allergic reactions and Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). TRALI is the leading cause of transfusion related deaths and the number one safety concern of all blood donor centers.

Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Grasmuck, medical director, Blood Donor Center; said the majority of platelet transfusions done at NHCL are to support the Labor and Delivery Department patients.

The Labor and Delivery Department delivers an average of six babies a day, so NHCL staff identified the need to have platelets on hand, should an emergency arise. Typically, platelets are requested by doctors once every two weeks.

"In general, platelets are transfused to patients who have a low platelet count, damaged platelets, or need platelets to assist with the normal blood clotting processes," Grasmuck said.

Grasmuck said the on-site process benefits the rare trauma or critical care patient in need of platelets in order to stabilize him or her prior to transport for treatment at a larger medical facility.

The transfusion recipient and the Blood Donor Center are not the only other benefactors of this process.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Edwards, NHCL laboratory technician, was one of the first platelet donors to experience the new procedure. He said the process is relaxing, but the process takes longer than an average red blood cell donation.

"There was only one needle inserted into my arm," said Edwards. "The entire process took about two hours, compared to about 20 minutes for a red blood cell donation, but I was able to sit in a comfortable environment and enjoy a movie on the center's portable DVD player."

Edwards said he felt completely normal after the apheresis process was complete. Because the red blood cells are returned to the donor, the donor typically feels less fatigue after a platelet donation as compared to a whole blood donation.

Hoiles encourages everyone to donate platelets, particularly those who are blood type AB, since the shelf life for blood platelets is considerably less than red blood cells; which can last between 35–42 days. Fresh plasma is good for up to one year when frozen. Platelets only last up to five days.

The body's quick replenishment of platelets and plasma also enables donors to give platelets more frequently than whole blood. Platelets can be donated at NHCL once every two weeks, but not more than 24 times in a 12-month period.

"Blood group AB, representing only 4 percent of the population, is the universal plasma and platelet type, and can be given to any patient," said Hoiles. "I encourage potential donors to contact NHCL or the nearest blood center in the Armed Services Blood program to see how they can donate blood. Each donation is a gift of life."

For more news from Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nhcl/.