The rationale for a standardized approach to assessment of platelet kinetics

The evaluation of platelet (PLT) components subjected to a new collection method, treatment, procedure, or prolonged storage requires that there be a means to assay the radiolabeled recovery and survival of the new, treated PLTs as well as that of a control PLT unit. The concern over "platelet inferiority creep," the persistent lack of significance despite declining efficiency seen when repetitive statistical comparisons are made between the newest PLT system and the penultimate one, has led to a call for a revised method for assessing treated or stored PLT components. The concurrent use of normal autologous PLTs as a reference standard for these dualisotope radiolabeled studies permits each donor to act as his or her own control with the test radiolabeled PLT products (first isotope) being compared to the same autologous donor's fresh radiolabeled PLTs (second isotope). Results for in vivo recovery and survival of the test or stored PLTs are expressed as a percentage of the donor's fresh radiolabeled PLT values. This supplement will address the standard operating procedure (SOP) for performing such studies and, in addition, the basis and method for the computerized statistical analysis of the derived data. This SOP is recommended as the new standard technique for performing in vivo radiolabeled recovery and survival on PLT units that are subjected to novel treatment or prolonged storage.