Red blood cell age determines the impact of storage and leukocyte burden on cell adhesion molecules, glycophorin A and the release of annexin V.

The influence of the age of the red blood cell (RBC) within its 120-day lifecycle at the time of blood donation on the RBC storage lesion is not well understood. Expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) (CD44, CD47, CD58 and CD147), glycophorin A (GPA) and phosphatidylserine (PS) on young and old RBCs density separated prior to storage of the RBC concentrate was determined by flow cytometry. Older RBCs showed significantly reduced expression of GPA throughout storage and CD44 and CD147 from Day 28 onwards compared to young RBCs.