Cell washing apparatus

A cell washing apparatus arranged to exchange one or more exchangeable entities in a cell-containing first fluid, the apparatus comprising:

• a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduit, the second fluid conduit being separated from the first fluid conduit by a semi-permeable membrane disposed therebetween;
• the first fluid conduit having a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet, the first fluid conduit arranged to transport the first fluid in a first direction between the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet;
• the second fluid conduit being arranged to house a fixed volume of a stationary second fluid;
• wherein the semi-permeable membrane comprises a plurality of pores arranged to permit transport of the one or more exchangeable entities between the first fluid and the second fluid, wherein the one or more exchangeable entities comprises at least one of free hemoglobin, free heme, free iron, blood plasma, potassium ions, or lactic acid.

A method of conditioning stored transfusion blood or stored packed red blood cells, the method comprising the steps of:

• [i.] providing a cell washing apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
• a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduit, the second fluid conduit being separated from the first fluid conduit by a semi-permeable membrane disposed therebetween;
• the first fluid conduit having a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet, the first fluid conduit arranged to transport the first fluid in a first direction between the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet;
• the second fluid conduit being arranged to house a fixed volume of a second fluid;
• wherein the semi-permeable membrane comprises a plurality of pores arranged to permit transport of one or more exchangeable entities from the first fluid to the second fluid, wherein the one or more exchangeable entities comprise one or both of free hemoglobin and blood plasma, and wherein the first fluid is transfusion blood isolated from a human body, or packed red blood cells;
• [ii.] inserting the transfusion blood or packed red blood cells through the first fluid inlet and subsequently passing said inserted transfusion blood or packed red blood cells through the first fluid conduit;
• and simultaneously,
• [iii.] providing a stationary second fluid in the second fluid conduit;
• and
• [iv.] retrieving the transfusion blood or packed red blood cells from the first fluid outlet, the retrieved transfusion blood or packed red blood cells comprising a lower concentration of free hemoglobin and other contaminants than present in the inserted transfusion blood or packed red blood cells from step [ii.].

A method of washing cells, the method comprising the steps of:

• [i.] providing a cell washing apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
• a first fluid conduit and a second fluid conduit, the second fluid conduit being separated from the first fluid conduit by a semi-permeable membrane disposed therebetween;
• the first fluid conduit having a first fluid inlet and a first fluid outlet, the first fluid conduit arranged to transport the first fluid in a first direction between the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet;
• the second fluid conduit being arranged to house a fixed volume of a second fluid;
• wherein the semi-permeable membrane comprises a plurality of pores arranged to permit transport of one or more exchangeable entities from the first fluid to the second fluid, wherein the one or more exchangeable entities comprises at least one of free hemoglobin, free heme, free iron, blood plasma, potassium ions, or lactic acid;
• [ii.] inserting a cell-containing first fluid through the first fluid inlet and subsequently passing said inserted cell-containing first fluid through the first fluid conduit;
• and simultaneously,
• [iii.] providing a stationary second fluid in the second fluid conduit;
• and
• [iv.] retrieving the cell-containing first fluid from the first fluid outlet, the retrieved cell-containing first fluid comprising a lower concentration of one or more exchangeable entities than present in the inserted cell-containing first fluid from step [ii.].