Double apheresis of peripheral blood stem cells in a single day in children mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for transplantation

Abstract:  Due to the movement of hematopoietic stem cells through the bone marrow environment, it may be possible to effectively harvest peripheral blood stem cells in a second apheresis within a few hours after a first apheresis. In a retrospective analysis, 107 aphereses were performed in consecutive 33 pediatric and six healthy pediatric donors who received granulocyte-colony stimulating factor at 10 μg/kg/day or 400 μg/m2/day for five days. The median age and weight of cases were seven yr (range 1–19) and 20 kg (range 8–87). The toxicities related to apheresis procedure were minimal in both aphereses. In 22 double aphereses, the average number of CD34-positive cells per body weight (kg) collected was 5.3 ± 4.2 (range 0.6–16.6) and 4.7 ± 3.1 (range 0.2–10.9) × 106 in the first and second aphereses, respectively (p = 0.569). Multivariate analysis showed that number of CD34-positive cells collected in the first apheresis (p = 0.008) was an independent factor of increased CD34-positive cells in the second apheresis. Double apheresis in a single day was feasible and this procedure may be able to lessen the burden of apheresis compared to two consecutive-day apheresis.