Production of standard blood components

In the past three decades, the production of standard blood components from whole blood donations and from apheresis collections has reached a widely accepted high technical standard, paralleled by semi-automated methodology to safeguard the stability of the production process and an internationally harmonized pharmaceutical quality. More recent methodological advances include pathogen inactivation as well as novel separation methods, which are challenging the previous achievements. The current review aims (1) to summarize the current status of implementation of novel techniques into the routine preparation process of blood components, (2) to discuss upcoming approaches in the area of component preparation, (3) to identify clinical needs that justify novel investigations into blood component quality and (4) to point out the status on the production of standard blood components by in vitro differentiation from stem and progenitor cells in vitro.