Osmotic Fragility in Stored Non-Detergent Washed Human Erythrocytes

Abstract

Osmotic fragility (OF) of non-detergent washed erythrocytes was evaluated in Nigerian human male erythrocytes stored for 0h, 12h, 24h and 48h. Storage of these human erythrocytes for up to 24h did not significantly alter their membrane characteristics. Mean corpuscular fragility (MCF) diminished and correlated negatively (r = -0.9668) with storage time. Only the 48h storage-time MCF exhibited significant variance compared to 0h, 12h and 24h (p <0.001). These results support OF-test data as reliable indices of alteration of membrane characteristics of non-detergent washed human erythrocytes stored for up to 24h. Non-detergent washing enhances erythrocytes OF test viability and hence the time window for meaningful OF test especially in situations of large sample volume.

Keywords: Osmotic fragility; Stored washed human erythrocytes; Mean corpuscular fragility.