Effect of Cellular Composition on Clotting Time

Abnormal blood clotting is present in many diseases and can be a major cause of death and/or complications. The abnormal clotting of blood may decrease the blood flow and therefore decrease oxygen going to certain organs giving rise to organ failure. A study was performed on pooled, human citrated whole blood (CWB) from which was prepared platelet rich plasma (PRP) and platelet poor plasma (PPP). The clotting times of each CWB, PRP and PPP were determined instrumentally. The CWB has the shortest clotting time, followed by PRP and subsequently followed by PPP (acellular). There were significant differences between the mean values for each of the groups. This data shows that the cellular components of blood contain substances which initiate some aspects of the clotting cascades. The fact that cells alter clotting time indicates that plasma assays alone may not be an effective clinical test to monitor coagulation. It may be that whole blood laboratory tests may be more effective in detecting and monitoring disease than those currently performed on plasma.