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Alterations in cell surface area and deformability of individual human red blood cells in stored blood

The functionality and viability of stored human red blood cells (RBCs) is an important clinical issue in transfusion. To systematically investigate changes in stored whole blood, the hematological properties of individual RBCs were quantified in blood samples stored for various periods with and without a preservation solution called CPDA-1. With 3-D quantitative phase imaging techniques, the optical measurements of the 3-D refractive index (RI) distributions and membrane fluctuations were done at the individual cell level. From the optical measurements, the morphological (volume, surface area and sphericity), biochemical (hemoglobin content and concentration), and mechanical parameters (dynamic membrane fluctuation) were simultaneously quantified to investigate the functionalities and their progressive alterations in stored RBCs. Our results show that the stored RBCs without CPDA-1 had a dramatic morphological transformation from discocytes to spherocytes within 2 weeks which was accompanied with significant decreases in cell deformability and cell surface area, and increases in sphericity. However, the stored RBCs with CPDA-1 maintained their morphology and deformability for up to 6 weeks.