Coagulation factor content of cryoprecipitate prepared from methylene blue plus light virus‐inactivated plasma

Abstract

Levels of factor VIII (FVIII) and fibrinogen were assessed in control cryoprecipitate and cryoprecipitate prepared in two centres from plasma subjected to methylene blue (MB) photochemical virus inactivation. The level of coagulation FVIII activity was reduced in plasma by approximately 30% after MB photoinactivation, with only 44% (centre A) and 31% (centre B) of units meeting the current UK specification of 0·7 iu/ml. A revised specification of 0·5 iu/ml is suggested. Losses of less than 11% were seen for von Willebrand factor (VWF)‐related activities. Cryoprecipitate prepared from group O or group A MB‐treated plasma contained 27–40% less FVIII than control units. This reflected the lower levels in MB‐treated plasma. The concentrating power of the cryoprecipitation process was not reduced for FVIII or fibrinogen in MB‐treated units. MB cryoprecipitate from centre A still met the UK guideline specification for FVIII and fibrinogen content, whereas at centre B only 62·5% of the group O cryoprecipitates contained > 70 iu FVIII/unit. This may reflect the lower product volume and lower FVIII content of group O plasma used at centre B and suggests that maintenance of total coagulation factor recovery in MB‐treated cryoprecipitate will require the higher product volume.