The porcine abattoir blood model — Bridging the gap between human and porcine blood for in-vitro testing

Reliable in-vitro testing of the thrombogenicity of medical devices is crucial for their safety, but requires large volumes of blood that often cannot be covered by conventional human blood donations. This study provides for the first time a comprehensive characterization of pig slaughterhouse blood compared to human blood with regard to hematological, inflammatory and coagulation-related parameters. The results show which properties are comparable and which differences need to be taken into account. The work thus lays the foundation for the establishment of an ethically justifiable and practical thrombogenicity model - an important step towards animal-free thrombogenicity tests in the development of blood-contacting medical products.