Platelet function of room temperature platelet concentrates stored in a new plastic material with high gas permeability.

In vitro platelet function during 7 days of storage at room temperature was studied in a conventional polyvinylchloride plastic bag F 76 and in a new plastic bag F 702 which contained as plasticizer a phtalateester analogue. This new material has increased permeability to oxygen and carbon dioxide, and therefore a pH decrease does not occur during 7 days of platelet storage. The decrease of plasma glucose concentration and the increase of plasma lactate in the new bag is less than in the standard plastic currently in use. In vitro platelet function measured as hypotonic shock reaction, aggregation response to ADP and collagen and 14C-serotonine uptake was better than that found with the standard material. The data indicate that the use of the new platelet storage container F702 will permit satisfactory storage for at least 5 days at 22 degrees C. It is suggested that it will even improve the quality, as measured by in vitro tests, of platelets stored up to 72 h compared to the standard plastic.