Methods and systems for reducing the risk of bacterial contamination in collected platelets

An automated system for the collection of blood platelets comprising:

• a) a disposable fluid circuit configured for the flow of whole blood and/or a separated blood component therethrough, said disposable fluid circuit comprising at least one venipuncture needle for accessing the vascular system of a donor, and a blood separation chamber for separating whole blood into one or more components;
• b) a reusable hardware device configured to receive a portion of said disposable fluid circuit, said hardware device including a separator element, a pump for withdrawing whole blood from a donor, a pump for removing one or more blood components from said separation chamber, valves for selectively diverting and directing liquid flow, and a controller configured to:
• i) monitor the volume of blood withdrawn from the donor;
• ii) selectively control said pumps to effect movement of blood and blood components through said disposable fluid circuit;
• iii) effect withdrawal of a first pre-determined volume of whole blood from a donor and a second volume of whole blood from a donor;
• iv) return said first pre-determined volume of whole blood to said donor before withdrawing said second volume of whole blood from said donor;
• and
• v) effect collection of platelets only from said second volume of whole blood.