Summary information about blood products and haemostatic agents

Blood components

see www.blood.co.uk/hospitals/products for a full compendium of information about blood components.

Tables 1−5 provide summary information about each main class of blood product. (Links: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5) Details of the quality standards and the manufacture and composition of blood components are prepared by the UK blood services. The blood services’ quality assurance procedures are designed to maintain compliance with these specifications. The services are regulated and inspected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Until the late 1970s, most blood was transfused without being further processed to separate plasma or platelets. This blood was termed ‘whole blood’. It is now used rarely in current practice in the UK, although in many countries it accounts for most transfusions. Almost all whole blood donations are processed to separate red cells, platelets and plasma. The donor’s blood is drawn into a plastic pack containing 63 ml of an anticoagulant-preservative solution, usually Citrate Phosphate Dextrose (CPD) or CPDA₁. The citrate binds calcium and acts as an anticoagulant, and the glucose and adenine support red cell metabolism during storage. The whole blood unit is filtered to remove white cells, most of the plasma is removed, and an additive solution is added. To prepare platelet concentrate, the white cell and platelet layer (the so-called buffy coat) is isolated and from this the platelets are separated, pooled and filtered to remove white cells.