Effect of gamma irradiation on the in vivo recovery of stored red blood cells

Gamma irradiation of blood components is used to prevent posttransfusion graft versus host disease. This process has been demonstrated to cause an increase in the permeability of the red blood cell membrane to potassium and sodium. Because of this red cell membrane lesion, it is important to investigate the effect of irradiation on the posttransfusion recovery of stored red blood cells. In the present study, the 24-hour posttransfusion recovery of AS-1 red cells irradiated with 30 Gy one or 14 days after collection and stored for a total of 35 days was compared to the recovery of unirradiated red blood cells stored for 35 days. There was no significant difference in the mean 24-hour posttransfusion recovery of 51Cr labeled red blood cells among any of the groups studied. Each group had a mean recovery > 75 percent. The mean potassium and hemoglobin concentrations at the end of 35 days of storage were significantly higher in both of the irradiated groups compared to the unirradiated group, but were not significantly different from each other. Under the conditions of this study, gamma irradiation did not significantly affect the 24-hour posttransfusion recovery of red blood cells stored for 35 days.