Abstract
A technique was developed to improve consistency of MNC transfers from the centrifuge to the collection bag in the Fenwal Amicus. The operator assures that RBCs completely fill the cassette by the end of the transfer by adjusting the RBC offset in succeeding cycles. We compared yields and crosscellular content before and after implementation of the monitoring technique. Retrospective data from 400 consecutive HPC collection procedures (200 for each technique) were compared. In 40 monitored collections, the RBC offset was adjusted to 6โ9 mL to ensure that RBCs completely filled the cassette. Collections requiring these adjustments were not associated with a specific diagnosis. Median values were compared between the 40 collections requiring offset adjustment and those performed before implementation of monitoring. Baseline peripheral CD34+ cell (17 vs. 14 cells ฮผL^โ1^), lymphocytes (2 vs. 1.3 ร 10^9^/L), WBCs, HCT, and PLTs were significantly higher in the group requiring offset changes. The group requiring offset changes had significantly more CD34+ cells per collection (190.8 ร 10^6^ or 2.04 ร 10^6^/kg vs. 84.3 ร 10^6^ or 0.89 ร 10^6^/kg) and more lymphocytes per collection (16.9 ร 10^9^ vs. 11.6 ร 10^9^). Crosscellular content of the group requiring offset changes was significantly higher for WBCs (41.8 vs. 33.1 ร 10^9^), granulocytes (9.6 vs. 7.2 ร 10^9^), RBCs (23 vs. 17 mL), and PLTs (2.1 vs. 1.2 ร 10^11^). Manual monitoring is a simple, inexpensive method to optimize each HPC collection to maximize CD34+ cell and lymphocyte yields. J. Clin. Apheresis, 2011. ยฉ 2011 WileyโLiss, Inc.