Abstract:
During the storage of transfusion blood, it may undergo a series of cellular and biochemical changes. Bacterial contamination may also occur, which together pose a risk of using prolonged stored blood. This study assessed the cellular changes, biochemical changes and bacterial contamination in whole blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma county referral hospital, Kenya. The study employed prospective design involving 20 randomly selected blood pints in citrate phosphate dextrose adenine (CPDA-1) anticoagulant that were assessed for 35 days. The cellular changes were tested using the Celtac F, MEK-8222 K analyzer. Potassium and sodium levels were tested using Humalyte plus5 analyzer while the pH level was estimated using Hanna pH meter. Bacterial contamination was established using Bactec instrument, culture and biochemical tests. Statistical Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed and was executed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS V.23). Results were considered significant at P≤0.05. After 35 days blood storage at 2-6°C, White blood cells (WBC), Red Blood Cells (RBC), platelets counts and Mean Cell Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) decreased significantly (P= <0.0001, 0.0182, <0.0001, 0.0023). The Mean Cell Volume (MCV) and haematocrit (HCT) increased significantly (P= <0.0001, 0.0003) while haemoglobin (HGB) level had insignificant variance (P=0.4185). Potassium significantly increased while Sodium and pH levels significantly decreased (P <0.0001, <0.0001). Bacterial contamination had insignificant variance (P=0.3335). Findings from this study shed light on the need to carefully monitor the cellular change, biochemical changes and bacterial contamination during blood storage to secure the safety of transfused blood.In conclusion, Platelets, WBC and RBC counts and its indices are significantly altered in stored blood especially when stored over two weeks. Potassium significantly increases while Sodium and pH levels significantly decrease. Bacterial contamination insignificantly changes but Staphylococcus aureus is a possible contaminant of stored blood. The study, therefore, recommends the use of fresh blood and bacterial surveillance during blood storage to avoid the adverse outcome of cellular changes, biochemical changes and bacterial contamination.
