Background. In 2013, the World Health Organization reported a shortage of 17 million red blood cell units, a number that remains growing. Acts to relieve this shortage have primarily focused on allogeneic blood collection. Nevertheless, autologous transfusion can partially alleviate the current pressure and dependence on blood banking systems. To achieve this, current gold standard autotransfusion devices should be complemented with widely available, cost-efficient, and time-efficient devices. The novel HemoClear cell salvage device (HemoClear BV, Zwolle, Netherlands), a gravity-driven microfilter, potentially is widely employable. We evaluated its performance in the cardiac postoperative setting compared to the centrifugal XTRA™ autotransfusion device. Methods. In a split-unit study (n = 18), shed blood collected 18 hours after cardiothoracic surgery was divided into two equal volumes. One-half was processed by the XTRA™ device and the other with the HemoClear blood separation system. In this paired set-up, equal washing volumes were used for both methods. Washing effectivity and cellular recovery were determined by measuring of complete blood count, free hemoglobin, complement C3, complement C4, and D-dimer in both concentrate as filtrate. Also, processing times and volumes were evaluated. Results. The HemoClear and XTRA™ devices showed equal effectiveness in concentrating erythrocytes and leucocytes. Both methods reduced complement C3, complement C4, and D-dimer by ≥90%. The centrifugal device reduced solutes more significantly by up to 99%. Free hemoglobin load was reduced to 12.9% and 15.5% by the XTRA™ and HemoClear, respectively. Conclusion. The HemoClear device effectively produced washed concentrated red blood cells comparably to the conventional centrifugal XTRA™ autotransfusion device. Although the centrifugal XTRA™ device achieved a significantly higher reduction in contaminants, the HemoClear device achieved acceptable blood quality and seems promising in settings where gold standard cell savers are unaffordable or unpractical.

Purpose Cell salvage is the process by which blood lost in surgery is collected and washed or filtered to produce autologous blood for re-transfusion to the patient. Cell salvage aims to reduce the need for donor blood. Centrifugal cell salvage washing technique is a preferred medical treatment in order to retain lost red blood cells (RBCs) without contaminants. Although this technology very efficiently collects and washes shed blood, it is costly and often impractical or unavailable, especially in middle- or low-income countries. This study assessed two innovative filter devices as an alternative to centrifugal cell salvage technology: a coarse collection filter device (Hemafuse) and a microfiltration device (HemoClear). In contrast to centrifugal technology, both filter devices do not require electricity, nor costly equipment and extensive training. We compared the effectiveness of these filtration technologies to remove plasma constituents and recover and concentrate the cellular components with centrifugal technology (autoLog ® device). Methods Whole blood was processed with each technology according to the device manufacturer’s instructions. Before and after processing, the blood products were analyzed for supernatant solutes and cellular composition. Results The centrifugal technology confirmed its efficacy to remove potentially harmful solutes and capture red blood cells. The microfiltration technology (HemoClear) reached comparable levels of removal of solutes, with a potential advantage over centrifugal technology in the ability to also recover platelets. The coarse filtration technology (Hemafuse) had no washing capacity but, like the microfiltration technology, has the advantage of recovering platelets. Conclusion Innovative filtration devices represent an alternative to centrifugal technology in the preparation of autologous blood for reinfusion. The HemoClear technology for the first time enables the recovery of washed platelets and red blood cells. Clinical trials will have to be performed to investigate the clinical value of this new autologous blood product.