Plateletpheresis experience with the Haemonetics Blood Processor 30, the IBM Blood Processor 2997, and the Fenwal CS-3000 Blood Processor.

Comparisons were made of the apheresis instruments Haemonetics Blood Processor 30, IBM Blood Processor 2997 and Fenwal CS-3000, for collection of platelets from normal donors. With each instrument the mean recovery was at least 4 x 10(11) platelets per procedure, and each instrument afforded a safe and reliable collection. The Haemonetics Blood Processor gave the lowest recovery of platelets per minute per procedure. The IBM Blood Processor 2997 required the longest time for set-up and priming and processed 1.5 liters more donor blood per collection than the other instruments. The Fenwal CS-3000, which is a computer-controlled instrument, was the least time consuming. The donor suffered a significantly greater drop in platelet count after collection with the IBM Blood Processor 2997 (31%) than after collection with the other instruments (19%), and we were unable to account for this observation.