HARVESTING OF PERIPHERAL-BLOOD STEM-CELLS WITH THE FENWAL CS3000 PLUS CELL SEPARATOR AND A SMALL VOLUME COLLECTION CHAMBER

Harvesting of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) using the Fenwal CS3000 plus(R) and a small volume collection chamber (SVCC) that provides a product volume of 50 ml, was evaluated at three institutions on 21 normal individuals and 47 patients undergoing either steady state harvests or chemotherapy mobilized PBSC harvests. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) were collected using "procedure #1" with a threshold setting of 100. With steady state harvests the volume of blood processed averaged 6.8 l (range = 4.5-9.5) at an average whole blood flow rate of 64ml/min (range = 54-76). MNC were harvested at 62 +/- 16% (mean +/- 1 S.D.) collection efficiency with a 93 +/- 5% purity. Erythrocyte contamination was 1.0 +/- 0.3ml/l blood processed and platelet contamination was half that obtained using the A-35 (Granulocyte) collection chamber with an average yield of 2.6 x 10(11) platelets and a collection efficiency of 20%. Average plasma flow rates also varied between institutions from 25-45 ml/min and an enhanced collection of monocytes was suggested when higher flow rates were used. Harvesting of MNC and CD34 + cells from leukopenic patients recovering from cyclophosphamide therapy indicated similar purities and harvesting efficiencies. These data demonstrate the utility of the CS3000 plus(R) for harvesting peripheral blood mononuclear cells for transplantation and validate the use of a SVCC that reduces platelet contamination and processing time by providing a 50 ml product volume for storage by cryopreservation.