Matthew S. Karafin, MD Msc Published in Transfusion, “Hypoxic storage of donor red cells preserves deformability after exposure to plasma from adults with sickle cell disease”
Dr. Matthew Karafin was the lead author on a multi-institutional investigation into the role of red cell storage conditions and patient clinical state on donor red cell deformability. The study included 18 adults with sickle cell disease and evaluated 10 different donor red cell units. Using a novel multiplexed micro-capillary network, deformability ex vivo was significantly higher when donor red cells were stored under hypoxic conditions. The most advantageous red cell deformability was seen when hypoxically stored red cells were incubated with patient plasma who were at steady state. This study could not be possible without the efforts of UNC’s own Anton Ilich, Lang Li, and Bahjat F. Qaquish.
The paper can be read here.