RESEARCH ON PROCEDURES FOR THE LOW-TEMPERATURE PRESERVATION OF BLOOD. XVII. FURTHER STUDIES ON THE MECHANISMS OF FREEZE THAW INJURY OF RED CELLS.

AS an integral part of our efforts to devise and evaluate clinically useful processes for the preservation of blood and red cells at low temperatures, basic biophysical and biochemical aspects of freezing injury to red cells were investigated. Such studies have had as their objective the seek ing out of information which might be exploited in formulating practical procedures for preserving blood at liquid nitrogen temperature with maximum recovery of viable cells. This report describes studies of dehydration as a possible agent of freezing damage, physical and biochemical properties of red cell nucleotide triphosphatase activated by freeze hemolysis, and summarizes results of attempts to employ microadditives in combination with a macroadditive, polyvinylpyrrolidone, to improve red cell recovers, resuspension stabilities and viability. Author