Objective: To observe platelet functions during the 3 days of platelet storage and to evaluate the effect of storage temperature towards platelet aggregation response.Methods: Two conditions of platelet storage were used in this study: at room temperature and in a cold condition at 4 °C to observe the temperature effect on platelet aggregation. The aggregation test was performed using a 96-wells plate platelet aggregation method.Results: At room temperature on day 1, the response of platelet aggregation reduced to 34.9±10.6%, which was less than half of the aggregation of fresh platelet (100%). The aggregation on day 2 reduced modestly (26.8±4.2%), in comparison with that seen on the first day. On day 3, platelet aggregation deteriorated significantly (6±1.2%), which was comparable to the control group without the presence of platelet agonist (6.1±1.4%). When platelets are stored at 4 °C, the aggregation response to ADP stimulation was slightly different to that shown by platelets stored at room temperature (22 °C). At the 4 °C, the aggregation response was 68.11±34.2%, 57.1±21.4%, and 5.9±2.6% at day 1, day 2, and day 3, respectively. The result showed that storing the blood at 4 ˚C or room temperature was not able to preserve platelet function, as the deterioration of platelet aggregation response over time was still taking place. Although was not statistically significant, our result indicated that cold storage reduced platelet responsiveness toward ADP activation.
Conclusions:This current study provides evidence of the deterioration of platelet function during first 3 days of platelet storage. Moreover, we found that storing platelets in 4 °C showed no significant benefit in preserving the ADP-induced platelet aggregation capacity compared to that stored in 22 °C.