Anticoagulants and Additive Solutions

Anticoagulants and additive solutions are equally important for preserving the RBC. During the blood donation, anticoagulants prevent blood from clotting, and the additive solutions maintain the shelf life of the RBC. Development of these solutions took quite a while. The first beginnings of storing blood date to World War I. Since then, there have been several solutions, which have developed gradually. Eventually, the difference in terminology between stored and preserved blood was also erased. Stored blood was anticoagulated without additional substances for the additional quality of RBC. In preserved blood, some additional substances were added to prevent the RBC from breaking down. The introduction of ACD made it possible to store the RBC with a smaller volume of anticoagulant and for larger blood transfusions with 21 days of storage. The next solution that was less acidic was CPD. With the addition of adenine, CPDA-1 was created, which prolongs the life of the RBC to 35 days. Some sulfonates, like AS-1, prolong the shelf life of RBC to 42 days. Over time, different solutions were tested with good results, and all of them were approved. The most common anticoagulants today for blood bags are CPD and CPDA-1. One of the most popular additive solutions is SAG-M. New solutions continue to develop.