One criticism which is often levelled at
me is that I am too flippant. Perhaps I appear that way when I tell the
trainees that the golden rule of blood transfusion is “don’t kill anyone”.
But as golden rules go, in my considered professional opinion I think it’s a
good one. One way of not killing anyone was to make sure that platelets are
stored at room temperature (between twenty and twenty-four degrees Celsius)
and gently agitated. And to make sure they didn’t get cold.
Now not only is it being suggested that
they might be kept
in the fridge, but that they might even be kept frozen
prior to use.
If there’s one thing I’ve found in blood
transfusion is that opinion changes. What used to be absolutely a no-no becomes a possibility,
and then is standard practice.
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