Donor sex, pre‐donation hemoglobin, and manufacturing affect CD71+cells in red cell concentrates

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCirculating CD71+ red blood cells (RBCs) have been reported to play an immunomodulatory role in vivo, which may contribute to adverse donor–recipient sex‐mismatched transfusion outcomes. However, it is not clear how CD71+ RBC quantity in red cell concentrates (RCCs) is affected by manufacturing methods and donor factors such as donor sex, donor age, pre‐donation hemoglobin (Hb), venous Hb (Hbv) levels, and donation frequency.MethodsWe determined CD71+ RBCs and Hb levels in whole blood (WB) from healthy donors (42 male/38 female). Using small‐scale red cell filtration (RCF) and whole blood filtration (WBF) methods, leukoreduced RCCs were processed from WB samples (n = 6) and the CD71+ RBCs were determined at days 1, 7, and 28. We examined uni‐ and multivariate associations among CD71+ RBCs, donor factors, and manufacturing method.ResultsMale donors had a higher CD71+ RBC concentration than females (p < .001), especially male donors aged 17–50 years with 1 or 2 WB donations over the previous 12 months. Donors with a Hbv above 155 g/L had a higher CD71+ RBC concentration than an Hbv level below 140 g/L (p < .05). There was a positive correlation between pre‐donation Hb and CD71+ RBC concentration (Pearson r = 0.41). WBF RCCs had a higher total number of CD71+ RBCs than RCF‐produced RCCs on day 1 (p < .05).DiscussionRCCs have variable numbers of CD71+ RBCs. This makes understanding the impact of donor factors and manufacturing methods on the immunomodulatory effect of CD71+ RBCs critical in exploring donor–recipient sex‐mismatched transfusions.