Transfusion of bone marrow red cells during bone marrow harvests

: Large volumes of bone marrow may be required for certain types of autologous bone marrow transplants. The present study was done to determine whether red cells obtained during a bone marrow harvest would be useful in reducing homologous transfusion requirements. A group of patients receiving standard transfusion support during the harvest (group 1) was compared to a group that received processed bone marrow red cells (PBMRBC) (group 2). Using the Cobe 2991 cell processor, 90% of the harvested bone marrow red cells were extracted and transfused during the procedure. Group 2 received a median of 1500 ml of blood processed from the bone marrow or 413 ml (volume of marrow processed x hematocrit) of red cells. Infusion of the PBMRBC reduced the homologous transfusion requirement from 6.5 units to 3.0 units (p = 0.02). In addition, group 1 had a 20% decrease in hematocrit following transfusion compared to the pre-harvest hematocrit, as opposed to an 8% decrease in group 2 (p = 0.02). This study indicates that PBMRBC can reduce the homologous transfusion requirements during an autologous bone marrow harvest.