Comparison of Factor 8 (VIII) and fibrinogen Viability in Whole Blood and Fresh Frozen Plasma

Background: In a special medical condition like coagulopathies, a fresh whole blood or stored FFP are often required, however, questions arise regarding the availability of required blood constituents and their integrity. Aim: To evaluate the viability of blood products before transfusion, with a focus on comparing the viability of haemostatic parameters in both whole blood and FFP. Methodology: Using an experimental study design, 32 male and female subjects with blood groups A, B, AB, and O in equal proportion were recruited. Following a baseline assessment for the blood under study, blood pints were collected using standard method of phlebotomy. Some pints were fractionated into whole blood and FFP, stored at 4±20C and -600C respectively. Manual Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and enzymatic assays for fibrinogen (FIB) and factor VIII (FVIII) were employed, and result obtained statistically analyzed using ANOVA and significance level set at P < 0.05. Results: The analysis across both storage duration and component types reveals significant temporal and sample-dependent variations in PT, INR, APTT, and FIB (P0.05). Storage beyond 21 days led to strongly significant increases in PT and INR, alongside a significant decline in FIB and eventual prolongation of APTT. Comparatively, Whole Blood exhibited strongly significant deviations from baseline in PT and INR, while Fresh Frozen Plasma maintained values statistically similar to baseline for both PT and FIB. Conclusion: Lower temperatures, especially freezing at -60°C, helped maintain the stability of coagulation factors. Prolonged storage of whole blood led to significant alterations in FVIII and FIB. Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) should therefore be considered as the preferred option for haemostatic transfusion therapy due to its stability in maintaining intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation factors.