Impact of maritime transport environments on blood quality

To evaluate the impact of different marine environments on the quality of red blood cells in additive solution with reduced leukocytes transported in a passive blood transport container (2-10 ℃) in order to provide data for marine transportation of blood.

By simulating marine conditions for supply, transportation trials were conducted in both inland and open seas that covered a distance of 20 nautical miles. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyze intra-group changes in quality parameters of red blood cells in additive solution with reduced leukocytes before and after transportation while independent sample t-tests based on these changes (Δ values) were used to study the inter-group differences in severity of damage.

Intra-group analysis showed that following inland sea transportation, the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) in these red blood cells were elevated by 0.52% (P < 0.05) and 0.68% (P < 0.01), with all the indicators within acceptable limits. In contrast, open sea transportation in high seas resulted in a 3.29% increase in the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes (P < 0.01), along with a surge of 39.13% in free hemoglobin (FHb) (P < 0.01), 30.00% in hemolysis rates (P < 0.01), and a 0.42% decrease in chloride ion concentrations (P < 0.001), with some parameters near critical quality thresholds. Inter-group comparisons confirmed that Δ free hemoglobin (ΔFHb) and Δ hemolysis rates increased more significantly in the open sea group than in the inland sea group (P < 0.05), although no statistically significant differences were found in ΔMCV, ΔMCH or Δ chloride ion concentrations (Δ Cl^-) between the two groups.

This study finds that open-sea transportation causes more significant hemolytic damage to red blood cells in additive solution with reduced leukocytes. The strong mechanical vibrations and impacts resulting from harsh marine conditions may be important determinants of blood quality. It is recommended that anti-shock stabilizing systems be used during long-distance marine transportation of blood and real-time cold-chain monitoring be enforced in the entire transport process to ensure that blood products meet the requirements for clinical quality.