Purpose

Peripheral blood stem cell harvesting is a procedure to obtain stem cells for use in transplantation. These cells are capable of rescuing a patient from the effects of high-dose chemotherapy and radiation. The blood stem cells can regrow into bone marrow and make all of the elements of blood.

General Information

The harvesting procedure is performed in the outpatient cancer center. After placement of catheters into the veins (or attachment of central line catheters), blood is pumped out of the body through a leukapheresis machine. The machine separates the blood into its various components (white cells, red cells, platelets, and plasma). The white cell layer (with some platelets and red cells) is collected in the machine, and the remaining parts of the blood are returned to the patients. The collection procedure takes approximately 2 hours. During the procedure, the patient is awake and able to watch television, eat or chat with friends. The procedure is generally painless, although some patients experience a temporary buzzing of the lips or leg cramps from an anti-clotting medicine required during the collection. At the completion of a collection session patients may go home. The cells are carefully counted and frozen until use in the transplant. Frequently patients may require 2-5 collection sessions (each about 2 hours) to obtain enough stem cells for a successful transplant.

To improve the efficiency of the collection procedures, and lessen the number of times needed on the leukapheresis machines, all patients/donors receive some form of "mobilization" medication prior to the collections. These medications push bone marrow stem cells from the hip into the blood, increasing the concentration of stem cells in the peripheral blood. The mobilization medications may include chemotherapy drugs and/or blood growth factors, depending on the particular needs of the patient and health of the donor.