Human blood is collected at our facility in Boston. Trained phlebotomists under the direction of registered nurses and licensed physicians collect research blood from donors recruited specifically for your human blood component projects. Protocols for phlebotomy, processing and transport can be designed to meet your specific needs. We also can recruit research blood donors with specific medical co
nditions to meet your requirements. For example, we have available groups of donors who are HIV positive, hepatitis B positive, hepatitis C positive and Lyme disease positive. Whole Blood
Fresh whole blood contains erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells), thrombocytes (platelets) and plasma. Units of whole blood (approximately 450 milliliters) can be collected in CPDA-1, CPD, ACD and sodium heparin anticoagulants. Smaller amounts of whole blood can be collected in a variety of anticoagulants using 10 milliliter Vacutainer tubes. Buffy Coat
Buffy coats are prepared by centrifugation of a unit of whole blood. The interface between the plasma and the red blood cells is harvested. The unpurified buffy coat yields approximately 0.5 - 1 billion peripheral blood mononuclear cells and a similar number of neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes). The buffy coat, as collected, is contaminated with platelets, plasma and red blood cells. Mononuclear cells can be separated by further processing the buffy coat with density gradient centrifugation using ficoll-hypaque. Platelet Concentrate
Platelet concentrates are prepared from units of whole blood. The blood is drawn, maintained and processed at room temperature. The final platelet concentrate contains approximately 25 - 50 billion platelets in 40 - 60 milliliters of plasma. Red Blood Cells
Erythrocytes (red blood cells) are prepared by collecting a unit of whole blood in the anticoagulant of your choice followed by centrifugation to remove most of the plasma, platelets and white blood cells. The resulting red blood cells average 225 milliliters per unit. Plasma
Plasma is obtained by centrifugation of whole blood to remove all of the cells. Standard units of approximately 250 milliliters of fresh frozen plasma drawn in CPDA-1 are available for immediate shipment. We also can meet your needs for smaller plasma samples from a varied donor population drawn into your preferred anticoagulant.
