Platelets are the components of blood that stop bleeding. Red blood cells collect oxygen from the lungs and deliver it throughout the body. Traumatic bleeding casualties may need red blood cells as well as platelets. Bode and Read began their collaboration in 1989 with a grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research. Their purpose was to find a way to prolong the life of platelets to make them available for use in field hospitals.
Fresh platelets last only five days.
The researchers succeeded by refining a technique Read had used to freeze-dry platelets for laboratory purposes. The freeze-drying process, or lyophilization, uses paraformaldehyde to preserve the cell structure of the platelets. Tests have shown the platelets, reconstituted in water, to be effective in stopping bleeding in laboratory animals and to have a shelf-life of at least one year. Centeon Corp. in Kankakee, Ill., licensed the technology in 1993 with the goal of moving the platelets into the market. Louis Summaria, Centeon's senior scientist, said he hopes to begin clinical trials in humans in 1999.