Post Thaw Processing of Red Blood Cells Using Microfluidics

Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) has been an integral part of medicine since the middle of the last century. In particular, RBCs have been the most transfused blood product in battlefield trauma care[1]. Cryopreservation of red blood cells has been used in particular by the military for a variety of reasons. The ability to preserve cells facilitates transportation of blood from one location to another. Combat can result in sharp increases in blood use for the treatment of civilian and military and frozen blood supplies can be used to meet variations in blood demand. In the civilian blood services, cryopreserved blood is typically used only for rare blood types[2] or for transfusion of neonates[3].