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Plastic blood storage bags could be shedding microplastics into stored blood<\/a>, and those particles may worsen the damage that red blood cells naturally accumulate during storage, according to a new study in Environment & Health (DOI: 10.1021\/envhealth.6c00110). The findings suggest that blood storage systems could be a previously underappreciated source of microplastic exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first study to directly visualize microplastic particles in stored red blood cell units using microscopy and to confirm their identity through analytical chemistry,\u201d Angelo D\u2019Alessandro<\/a>, a University of Colorado Anschutz professor and expert in red blood cell storage who was not involved in the study, says in an email. \u201cThat is an important technical advance.\u201d<\/p>\n In experiments, a team from China found that microplastic particle concentrations increased steadily over 30 days of storage. In that time, concentrations were between 7 and 20 times those found in freshly opened blood bags; the highest concentrations measured 22.3 ng\/mL. Mechanical shaking and room temperature storage, which mimic improper storage or transportation, accelerated particle release by increasing degradation of the bags’ polymer surfaces.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concentrations reported are not trivial and deserve careful attention, particularly for patients who receive repeated or large-volume transfusions, such as children with inherited anemias or individuals with chronic transfusion needs,\u201d D’Alessandro says. \u201cAt the same time, we do not yet know what level of exposure is sufficient to produce clinically meaningful effects in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n While blood is in storage, biochemical and structural changes gradually reduce the integrity and function of red blood cells; these negative impacts are known as storage lesions. The researchers observed more storage lesion features in stored blood than in fresh blood from healthy donors.<\/p>\n Outside experts urge caution in interpreting these results, however, as the researchers did not establish a mechanism by which microplastic particles might be degrading blood cells.<\/p>\n