Editing Platelet (section)

====Delivery====
Platelets do not need to belong to the same A-B-O blood group as the recipient or be cross-matched to ensure immune compatibility between donor and recipient unless they contain a significant amount of red blood cells (RBCs). The presence of RBCs imparts a reddish-orange color to the product and is usually associated with whole-blood platelets. Some sites may type platelets, but this is not critical.

Prior to issuing platelets to the recipient, they may be irradiated to prevent [[transfusion-associated graft versus host disease]] or they may be washed to remove the plasma.

The change in the recipient's platelet count after transfusion is termed the "increment" and is calculated by subtracting the pre-transfusion platelet count from the post-transfusion count. Many factors affect the increment including body size, the number of platelets transfused, and clinical features that may cause premature destruction of the transfused platelets. When recipients fail to demonstrate an adequate post-transfusion increment, this is termed [[platelet transfusion refractoriness]].

Platelets, either apheresis-derived or random-donor, can be processed through a volume reduction process. In this process, the platelets are spun in a centrifuge and plasma is removed, leaving 10 to 100 mL of platelet concentrate. Such volume-reduced platelets are normally transfused only to neonatal and pediatric patients when a large volume of plasma could overload the child's small circulatory system. The lower volume of plasma also reduces the chances of an adverse transfusion reaction to plasma proteins.<ref name="pmid16537051">{{cite journal |vauthors=Schoenfeld H, Spies C, Jakob C |title=Volume-reduced platelet concentrates |journal=Current Hematology Reports |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=82–88 |date=March 2006 |pmid=16537051}}</ref> Volume reduced platelets have a shelf life of four hours.<ref>[http://www.cbbsweb.org/enf/2001/pltwashvol.html CBBS: Washed and volume-reduced Plateletpheresis units] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414063023/http://www.cbbsweb.org/enf/2001/pltwashvol.html |date=2014-04-14}}. Cbbsweb.org (2001-10-25). Retrieved on 2011-11-14.</ref>