An ultrastructural study of stored human platelets after washing using prostacyclin.

The morphology of washed human platelets stored at 4 degrees C has been examined over a period of 96 h. Platelets prepared using prostacyclin showed good preservation of their internal structure. These platelets showed no signs of activation when stirred in an aggregometer and only small reversible aggregates were formed during storage. In contrast, platelets prepared using a more conventional method, which does not use prostacyclin, showed poor preservation of internal structure. Storage and stirring of these platelets resulted in activation and morphological deterioration. These observations support our previous finding that prostacyclin prolongs the viability of washed human platelets in vitro.