The Removal of Heat?damaged and 51Cr?labelled Red Cells in Haemoglobinopathies

Abstract

Summary. Fifty?seven individuals, all living in Ghana, and having Hb types AA (controls), AS, S?thalassaemia, CC, SC, and SS, were studied using 51Cr?labelled heatdamaged red cells. Investigations were designed to show the effect of heating on red cell morphology, G6PD activity, osmotic and mechanical fragility, ESR, sickling, and the clearance of the cells from the circulation after injection. In transfusion experiments, damaged cells were given to recipients with differing haemoglobin types and the cell disappearance and radioactive uptake by the liver and spleen were measured. In AS, S?thalassaemia and CC patients the clearance and splenic uptake were similar to those of the AA subjects. In some of the SC and in all of the SS patients, the spleen did not sequester damaged cells, although they were cleared fairly rapidly from the circulation in a few cases. It was concluded that intracorpuscular factors cannot be ignored in the removal of heat damaged cells from the circulation, even though extracorpuscular mechanisms play the major part. Copyright � 1971, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved � 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.