Syringe and aggregate filter administration does not affect survival of transfused autologous fresh feline red blood cells

This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291476-4431.Structured Abstract - \ud OBJECTIVE:\ud To assess the effect of transfusion using a syringe and microaggregate filter on short-term\ud survival and circulating half-life of autologous feline RBCs.\ud DESIGN:\ud Prospective, internally controlled, observational study.\ud SETTING:\ud A University Teaching Hospital\ud ANIMALS:\ud Six apparently healthy, owned pet cats.\ud INTERVENTIONS:\ud Blood collection by jugular venipuncture. Transfusion with labeled, autologous, fresh red\ud blood cells.\ud MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:\ud Anticoagulated whole blood (35 ml/cat) was collected in two equal aliquots. RBCs were\ud washed and labeled at two different biotin densities, before suspension in autologous\ud plasma. Labeled RBCs were then transfused using two methods, gravity flow and pump\ud delivery using a 20ml syringe and 18 μm microaggregate filter.\ud Whole blood samples were collected from each cat at 2 hr intervals for 12 hours\ud following completion of the transfusions. Additional samples were collected at weekly\ud intervals up to 6 weeks to assess circulating half-life of the transfused cells. Cell survival\ud was assessed via flow cytometry. The proportion of transfused cells remaining in each\ud \ud of the two populations was measured. Quantitative changes in the two populations over\ud time were assessed by two-way repeated measures ANOVA.\ud Biotinylated RBCs were readily detected in all cats over the 6-week sampling period.\ud There was a significant decrease in both populations of labeled cells over the 6-week\ud period (p