Sickle cell trait results in a high leukoreduction quality control failure rate for whole blood donations.

Even when leukofiltration appears to have been completed successfully, WB units collected from donors with SCT have a high (55% in aggregate) rate of inadequate leukoreduction. Correlating this result with previous studies showing that of up to 50% of WB units collected from donors with SCT fail to pass through the leukoreduction filter, we estimate that only 25% of WB donations collected from individuals with SCT will result in a leukoreduced RBC unit that meets all FDA requirements. Blood centers should encourage individuals with SCT to donate platelets or plasma, rather than WB.