The future of automated red blood cell collection.

Automated red blood cell (RBC) collection is a newer but well-established form of donor apheresis. The technologies comprising and supporting apheresis have undergone significant advancements through the past 50 years, and we anticipate further improvements in devices and systems for automated RBC collection. Multiple factors must be considered in implementing automated RBC collections, but these procedures provide a way to draw additional RBC products that meet cGMP, regulatory, blood collector economic and donor objectives while maintaining or improving RBC availability. The continuing need for RBCs, accompanied by shrinking donor availability, would indicate that automated RBC collections will grow.