Platelet adhesiveness after blood donation.

Platelet adhesiveness to glass was measured in healthy blood donors at the time of and eight days after donating 500 ml of blood. By a whole blood method a highly significant increase was found whereas by a method using platelet-rich plasma with added adenosine diphosphate there was only a slightly significant increase. The discrepancy suggested that changes in the red cell population might influence the results. Packed red cells from 19 blood donors obtained at the time of donation and eight days later were mixed with fresh pooled platelets from the same independent persons on each occasion. The whole blood platelet adhesiveness on this mixture showed an increase in every case after blood donation. It is postulated that the increased adhesiveness is influenced by the presence of young red cells.