Cold Stored Platelets Could Be Just as Safe for Cardiac…

Cold Stored Platelets Could Be Just as Safe for Cardiac Surgery, and Last Three Times Longer Platelets used in cardiac surgery have long faced a frustrating limitation, they can only be stored at room temperature for 5 to 7 days before they must be discarded. A new randomized trial published in JAMA suggests cold storage could extend that window to 21 days, without compromising how well they control bleeding. Patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass often require platelet transfusions to manage bleeding. Room temperature platelets, stored at 20 to 24 degrees Celsius, have a short shelf life of just 5 to 7 days. Cold storage, at 1 to 6 degrees Celsius, may allow platelets to be stored longer, but whether this compromises their ability to actually stop bleeding has remained an open question. Researchers conducted a phase 3, multicenter, randomized, adaptive noninferiority trial across 27 sites in the US and Australia, enrolling both pediatric and adult patients undergoing cardiac surg