Brief Note: The Use of a Special Preservation Medium for the Maintenance of Platelet Viability at 4 C

Viability of rabbit platelets stored for 1 to 6 days in different media at 4 C. was studied using the Cr⁵¹-platelet survival technic.

Platelets stored for 24 hours in Triton-saline or DAS-gelatin had practically no viability.

When platelets were stored for 24 hours in diluted plasma, significant degrees of viability were found, but this decreased rapidly in the successive 48 hours.

The viability of platelets stored in diluted plasma containing inosine, adenine, glucose and phosphate buffer was maintained at significant levels over a six day period.

The data presented here suggest that viability and, consequently, the hemostatic properties of platelets stored at 4 C. can be maintained over relatively long periods of time provided that loss of the ATP reserve of the cells can be prevented.