Effect of heating on stored erythrocytes while stationary in an incubator

Objective To observe the effects of elevated temperatures(37~44.5℃)on the cell counts, hemolysis and osmotic fragility of stored red blood cells.Methods After 7~35 days of storage at 4℃, erythrocyte suspensions were heated by incubation at 37℃ and 44.5℃ for 30 min in an incubator and then examined for cell counts, hemolysis and osmotic fragility.Results Red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet counts, hemoglobin and potassium were unchanged following the heat treatment. In the osmotic fragility test, hemolysis remained within normal limits. Hemolysis of groups incubated at 37℃ and 44.5℃ began at (4.41±0.38)g/L and (4.3±0.2)g/L respectively while a complete hemolysis occurred at (3.42±0.36)g/L and (3.4±0.1)g/L , showing no significant difference compared to the room temperature control (4.5±0.18)g/L and (3.6±0.1)g/L. There was no significant distinction in the proportions of smooth spherocyte among the samples incubated at different temperatures, except the samples stored for 35 days, probably due to the long storage period.Conclusions Heating at temperatures between 37～44.5℃ for as long as 30 min does not cause hemolysis or other damage to red blood cells.