PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF BLOOD COMPONENTS FOR TRANSFUSION USE (WHOLE BLOOD, PACKED RED BLOOD CELLS, FRESH FROZEN PLASMA) IN CANINE, FELINE AND BOVINE BLOOD PRODUCTS, AND PREPARATION OF BLOOD COMPONENT FOR NON-TRANSFUSION USE (PLATELET RICH PLASMA)IN DOG

Evaluation of hematological parameters, ammonia concentration and microbial contamination in Canine Packed Red Blood Cells stored in CPD-SAGM for 42 days. Abstract Canine transfusion medicine practices have been growing rapidly over the past few decades and the use of specific blood components (packed red cells, plasma) has permitted to optimized the canine blood donations. The study was undertaken to evaluated the changes in RBC, MCV, Ht, RDW, WBC and ammonia concentration in canine PRBC stored in CPD-SAGM for 42 days. Also the presence of bacterial contamination was evaluated with blood culture. PRBC units were stored in a routine manner and were examined every 2-3 weeks. Hematological parameters changed significantly with increase of MCV, Ht and RDW, while WBC decreased. Also ammonia concentration increased significantly during the storage. RBC and WBC deteriorated somewhat during storage and ammonia concentration increased similar to what reported in canine and human in vitro studies. No bacterial contamination was reported. The results obtained in this study agree mostly with what previously is reported in canine and human medicine. Further studies are needed to better evaluated how the reported alterations influence viability of blood cells in canine PRBC. The safety and quality of feline whole blood units collected with an open system and the effect of storage on hematological parameters and ammonia concentration Abstract The veterinary transfusion medicine is constantly in progress but still now feline blood donation, collection, and conservation of whole blood and blood products present some problems. Feline whole blood collected with open system and stored in CPDA1 for 35 days at 4°C was evaluated for hematological parameters, ammonia concentration and sterility during the storage period. Statistical analysis resulted in significant increase in ammonia concentration and decrease of WBC. No other significant changes resulted in hematological parameters (RBC, Ht, MCV, RDW). No units presented bacterial contamination during storage. The use a standardized protocol during blood collection, preparation and storage of feline whole blood permit to obtain a product without microbial contamination, minimum changes in haematological parameters but with a very high ammonia concentration. Preliminary Evaluation on the Stability of Protein in Bovine Fresh Frozen Plasma Abstract The aim of this study were to evaluating preliminary stability of glucose, urea, total protein and protein fractions in bovine fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Blood was collected into human sterile double-pack blood collection system containing citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA) and after centrifugation the plasma units were stored within 8 hours from blood collection at – 19°C obtaining FFP. The analysis of biochemical parameters were performed on fresh plasma after centrifugation of whole blood unit and on thawed FFP after 1 and 6 months of storage. Pre and post storage results were compared using a one way repeated measures ANOVA. Seven FFP were obtained from 7 different whole blood units. There was no significant changes in the concentrations of glucose, urea, total protein and protein fraction during the entire period of storage. This preliminary study showed that during 6 months of storage no significant changes were appeared in the evaluate biochemical parameters in bovine FFP. Effectiveness of manual double centrifugation method for preparation of Canine Platelet-Rich Plasma Abstract The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a product derived from whole blood with a platelet concentration higher than normal range in a small amount of plasma. Regenerative capacities of PRP deriving from platelet growth factors. For this reason PRP is used in human and veterinary medicine for its capacity to stimulate cell proliferation, angiogenesis, wound healing, production of fibroblasts, collagen, osteoblasts and to accelerate the healing process. In veterinary medicine the methods use to produce PRP are not standardized and extremely numerous. The aim of this study was to describe and evaluate a manual double centrifugation method to produce canine PRP. 28 blood samples (5-10 ml with 1 ml of sodium citrate) from 28 healthy dogs were analyzed. The first centrifugation (2500 rpm for 10’) resulted in two components, blood cell component in the bottom and serum component (SEC) in the upper fraction of the tube. All SEC, the buffy coat and the first 2 mm of red blood cell was submitted to a second centrifugation (4000 rpm for 15’) and resulted in two components, platelet poor plasma (PPP) and platelet pellet in the bottom. The amount of PPP used to resuspend platelet pellet was calculated considering that all platelets previously present in the SEC was in platelet pellet. Then 50% of the calculated PPP was used to resuspend platelet pellet with the aim to obtain the final platelet concentration of about 1 million /µl. The method proposed in this study permitted in 14/28 samples of PRP (50%) to reach the human target of 1 milion platelets/µl ± 20% and/or the target of three to six fold platelet concentration in whole blood. According to a part of human literature the concentration of platelet in PRP does not seem to be necessarily linked to its effectiveness. For this reason to complete the evaluation of the proposed method will be necessary assess the platelet viability and after apply the PRP in vivo.