Changes in hematological parameters post plateletpheresis: Single center study from North India

Increasing demand for platelet transfusion implies the need to recruit greater numbers of donors. We planned this study to evaluate donor safety issues with regards to changes in hematological values after plateletpheresis to improve donor safety and satisfaction.The study was conducted on 1000 healthy plateletpheresis donors over a period of 24 months. Pre- and post-apheresis hematological parameters of donors were analyzed. Recovery of platelet was also observed in plateletpheresis donor who returned to after 48 h.We observed that the Platelet counts decreased significantly in the plateletpheresis donors (p=<0.001) after each procedure and there was a non-significant decline in Hb (p = 0.34), Hct (p = 0.44) and RBCs (p = 0.08). The hematological changes were within the normal limits with no clinical evidence of anemia or thrombocytopenia. Recovery of platelets in plateletpheresis donors after 48 h was observed in 30 donors (0.03 %).A significant immediate post procedure decrease in platelet count was observed in our study but the recovery of platelets was adequate suggesting next platelet collection from the donor can be safely done after a period of 48 h.