Methemoglobin Reduction Rate of Nitrite Treated Red Cells as a Function of Cell Age.

The influence of cell age on the rate of reduction of methemoglobin (MRR) in nitrite treated red cells has been investigated. Starting from the assumption that the decrease of MRR with cell age proceeds logarithmically from 100 per cent at the second, day to zero on the 160th or 180th day, the mean MRR was calculated for different cell ages. The agreement of the predicted and found values was good. The same logarithmically decreasing age decay curve could be used for calculation of the MRR both in rabbits and in dog and human erythrocytes if the maximum reduction rate is assumed to be 100 per cent/1 hour in rabbit and 35 per cent/1 hour in dog and human erythrocytes.