I am currently culturing MSCs with platelet lysate, do you think there is reason to switch to completely animal free or is avoiding serum enough?
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Human platelet isolate has been considered to be an alternative to serum in the expansion of MSC. Although platelet isolate is free of bovine components, there is still risk of viral contamination since this is derived from human serum. In addition, this material can vary from lot to lot which warrants the qualification of a lot prior to the incorporation into a manufacturing process.