Rapid deoxygenation of red cells and hemoglobin solution using hollow capillary fibers

Abstract

A newly designed capillary deoxygenator has been constructed by using microporous polypropylene hollow fibers sealed into an airtight plexiglass housing. Oxygenated red cell suspensions and hemoglobin solutions flowing through the hollow fibers were subjected to deoxygenation with a gas mixture composed of 95 percent N₂ and 5 percent CO₂ passed through the housing. At a given flow rate of the oxygenated fluid, the outgoing fluid pO₂ varied directly with hematocrit and inversely with the residence time. With a deoxygenator composed of 144 parallel 100-μm fibers with an active length of 10 em, 2 ml of blood at 10 percent hematocrit can be converted from arterial to venous pO₂ in approximately 1 min. The design of this deoxygenator provides a method for rapid deoxygenation of blood without red cell membrane damage or hemolysis.