Apoptosis Inhibition in Cold-stored Platelet Concentrates Preserves Thrombus Formation

Introduction Transfusion of platelet concentrates (PCs) is an essential medical approach to treat or prevent bleeding in patients with impaired platelet function or after injury. Nevertheless, the standard storage of PCs at room-temperature (RT) is associated with an increased risk of bacterial contamination as well as reduced platelet functionality. We previously showed that cold-stored PCs have better functionality compared to RT-stored PCs but reduced in vivo circulation time due to cold-induced apoptosis. To investigate cold-stored PCs hemostatic functionality upon apoptosis inhibition, we established an ex vivo model simulating physiological blood flow to evaluate the contribution of cold-stored PCs to thrombus formation.