The Fate of Bacteria in Frozen Red Cells

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Abstract
Units of human blood were intentionally contaminated with suspensions of Aerobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Sarcina lutea, Serratia marcesens, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus faecalis, Paracolobactrum aerogenoids (Enterobacter hafniae), Mima polymorpha or Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. When inoculation was made prior to glycerolization, the subsequent glycerolization, freezing, thawing and deglycerolization resulted in roughly a 2 log reduction in the number of bacteria. When inoculation was made with a final concentration from 101-105 organisms/ml, immediately following deglycerolization or following washing without glycerolization and freezing, no increase in the number of bacteria was seen after 72 h storage at 4.degree. C. Of the 12 organisms studied, 3 decreased in number during 72 h storage. The current 24 h limit on the post-thaw storage of frozen red blood cells may be unnecessarily restrictive.