Posted by Inventors Amir Farnoud and Amid Vahedi (Ohio University, US) have filed a patent application entitled “Methods for extending the shelf-life of stored donor blood and/or red blood cells and treated red blood cell compositions produced thereby” (WO2021222074). The invention features methods for extending the shelf life of donor blood and/or red blood cells (RBC) with cyclodextrin/lipid compositions. Native RBCs have a shelf life of 35 to 42 days at refrigerated temperatures. If Methyl-ACD/lipid complex is added to mammalian (human) blood at a cyclodextrin concentration of between 10 mM and 20 mM, the shelf life may increase up to 210 days. The used various lipids include compounds such as 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (sodium salt) (POPS). The inventors postulate that the mechanism of the increased stability is due to methyl-ACD-mediated lipid exchange enabling RBCs stored in the blood banks beyond their normal expiration dates.
According to WHO data, the blood wastage is accredited to poor inventory management, deprived manufacturing practices, inadequate storage and shipment, especially in the developed world. It is anticipated that blood wastage is responsible for the loss of five million blood units annually [1].
[1] Sultan et al. Int J Med Res Health Sci 2021, 10(5): 91-95