Charlotte doctor researches ways to extend life of platelets to save lives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A doctor at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte is doing blood platelets research with the goal of saving more lives.

Dr. Susan Evans, chief of surgical care at CMC, is trying to extend the life of platelets extracted from blood donations.

Platelets are crucial for blood clotting and are given to trauma patients who are losing blood, but there’s an ongoing shortage of them because of their short shelf life.

Donated platelets are stored at room temperature and only last for five days. Evans is studying a new method for preserving them.

“When we store them in cold, they're actually lasting longer,” Evans said. “Their clotting function is working much better in a delayed fashion than it would if they were stored in room temperature."

Evans is also giving the platelets being studied a drug that helps energy supply. She believes the drug is making platelets function twice as long.

“When we give them cytochrome c, and store them in the cold, the platelet function works as well at 10 days as it would at day one if it was stored just in the warmth,” Evans said.

Evans said she is passionate about this cause because many of her patients would not be alive without platelets.

In June 2014, a 25-year-old Eric Hudspeth was struck by a drunken driver, and miraculously survived thanks to 36 units of red blood cells, 35 units of plasma and two units of platelets he received from Carolina Blood Center of the Carolinas local blood donors.

People who want to donate blood platelets can do so every two weeks.

More information on Evans' research can be found on the Carolinas HealthCare System website.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

Cox Media Group