Method for separating blood, separation container for a blood centrifuge, system for filling a freezer container

A method for separating blood, wherein different blood fractions—erythrocytes, buffy coat, and blood plasma—are obtained,

• wherein blood is introduced into a separation container and is then centrifuged into different, fluidically connected sections of the separation container arranged above one another, specifically a top section for receiving the blood plasma, a center section for receiving the buffy coat, and a bottom section for receiving the erythrocytes,
• wherein the future packing volume of the erythrocytes to be centrifuged is determined using the hematocrit value of the supplied blood,
• wherein the capacity of the bottom section is adapted to the expected packing volume of the erythrocytes after centrifugation such that the phase boundary forming between buffy coat and erythrocytes during centrifugation is positioned in a region of the center section of the separation container that is adjacent to the bottom section, and,
• wherein the quantity of supplied blood is introduced into the separation container in an exact volume, taking into account the expected packing volume of the erythrocytes,
• and wherein after centrifugation the bottom section is separated from the center section, and wherein the center section is part of a freezer container that during centrifugation is separated from the other region of the freezer container, and wherein after centrifugation the connection to the previously separated region of the freezer container is produced and the buffy coat travels at least into parts of the entire freezer container.

A method for separating blood, wherein different blood fractions—erythrocytes, buffy coat, and blood plasma—are obtained,

• wherein blood is introduced into a separation container and is then centrifuged into different, fluidically connected sections of the separation container arranged above one another, specifically a top section for receiving the blood plasma, a center section for receiving the buffy coat, and a bottom section for receiving the erythrocytes,
• wherein the future packing volume of the erythrocytes to be centrifuged is determined using the hematocrit value of the supplied blood,
• wherein the capacity of the bottom section is adapted to the expected packing volume of the erythrocytes after centrifugation such that the phase boundary forming between buffy coat and erythrocytes during centrifugation is positioned in a region of the center section of the separation container that is adjacent to the bottom section, and,
• wherein the quantity of supplied blood is introduced into the separation container in an exact volume, taking into account the expected packing volume of the erythrocytes,
• and wherein after centrifugation the bottom section is separated from the center section, and wherein after centrifugation and after the bottom section has been separated from the center section a fluidic connection between a freezer container allocated to the separation container and fluidically connectable thereto and the center section is produced and the buffy coat travels out of the center section into the freezer container.

A separation container for a blood centrifuge having a bottom section for receiving erythrocytes, having a center section for receiving buffy coat, and having a top section for receiving blood plasma, wherein the center section has a smaller cross-sectional dimension than the top and bottom sections, wherein the sections are fluidically connected and wherein the bottom section is separable from the center section, wherein the capacity of the bottom section may be adapted to the expected packing volume of the erythrocytes after centrifugation such that the expected packing volume may essentially be completely accommodated by the bottom section and such that through this the phase boundary between erythrocytes and buffy coat runs in a region of the center section that is adjacent to the bottom section,

• and wherein the separation container includes a freezer container, wherein the freezer container is associated with the separation container and is fluidically connectable thereto, wherein the bottom section, the center section, and the top section are three-dimensional from the beginning, and wherein the fill volume is up to approx. 500 mL, wherein the freezer container is connected in a sterile manner to a supply device for dimethyl sulfoxide—DMSO—and to a syringe,
• wherein the syringe fulfills transport, storage, and/or mixing functions, and wherein the separation container, the freezer container, the supply device for DMSO, and the syringe are components of a closed system, wherein the individual components are included inside containers that act like sterile coverings and do not permit any interaction with the environment, and wherein the individual components are connected in a sterile manner and may be separated in a sterile manner.

A system for filling a freezer container with a blood fraction obtained after centrifugation, specifically buffy coat, and for preparing the buffy coat for the purposes of cryopreservation in the freezer container, using a separation container,

• wherein a supply device for blood, a separation container, and a freezer container are provided;
• wherein the supply device for blood includes at least one anticoagulant supply and one sampling section and is connected in a sterile manner to the separation container;
• wherein the supply device for blood may be separated in a sterile manner from the separation container after the separation container has been filled and before centrifugation;
• wherein the separation container has a bottom section, a center section, and a top section;
• wherein the center section may be transformed into a freezer container after centrifugation, with the top and bottom sections removed;
• wherein the center section or the freezer container may be connected in a sterile manner to a covered syringe, a supply device for DMSO, and a pressure equalization device;
• wherein the covered syringe, the supply device for DMSO, and the pressure equalization device may be separated in a sterile manner from the freezer container after the buffy coat has been prepared in the freezer container.