Factor VIII and fibrinogen recovery in plasma after Theraflex methylene blue-treatment: effect of plasma source and treatment time

Background. The quality of fresh-frozen plasma is affected by different factors. Factor VIII is sensitive to blood component storage processes and storage as well as pathogen-reduction technologies. The level of fibrinogen in plasma is not affected by the collection processes but it is affected by preparation and pathogen-reduction technologies. Materials and methods. The quality of plasma from whole blood and apheresis donations harvested at different times and treated with a pathogen-reduction technique, methylene blue/light, was investigated, considering, in particular, fibrinogen and factor VIII levels and recovery. Results. The mean factor VIII level after methylene blue treatment exceeded 0.5 IU/mL in all series. Factor VIII recovery varied between 78% and 89% in different series. The recovery of factor VIII was dependent on plasma source as opposed to treatment time. The interaction between the two factors was statistically significant. Mean levels of fibrinogen after methylene blue/light treatment exceeded 200 mg/dL in all arms. The level of fibrinogen after treatment correlated strongly with the level before treatment. There was a negative correlation between fibrinogen level before treatment and recovery. Pearson's correlation coefficient between factor VIII recovery and fibrinogen recovery was 0.58. Discussion. These results show a difference in recovery of factor VIII and fibrinogen correlated with plasma source. The recovery of both factor VIII and fibrinogen was higher in whole blood plasma than in apheresis plasma. Factor VIII and fibrinogen recovery did not appear to be correlated.