Centrifugation of very freshly donated blood may yield platelets unstable to storage in the new generation of containers.

The stability of platelets stored in the second generation of container has been examined further. Platelet concentrates prepared in CPD anticoagulant were found to deteriorate fairly rapidly during storage if prepared from very freshly donated blood, whereas a more than 4-hour delay between donation and platelet isolation yielded platelet concentrates much more stable to storage. Delays of more than 2 h (relative to the time of donation) in the isolation of platelets led to decreases in the aggregation response to low or moderate doses of collagen. Platelets from blood collected into CPD adenine showed decreased aggregation responses relative to equivalent cells from blood collected into adenine-free anticoagulant. It seems that a decreased aggregation response is associated with improved storage properties.