This guide will answer your questions about the Peripheral Stem Cell Collection procedure:
- How does it work?
- What is expected from this procedure?
- How to prepare for the procedure?
- What precautions should you follow after the procedure?
What is the apheresis procedure?
Apheresis procedure is a medical procedure that involves directing the blood in the donor’s or patient veins through tubing to a machine that separates the blood into its individual component. The desired component is collected and the remainder of the blood components are reinfused back into the donor’s body.
What is the Cell Collection procedure?
- Also called stem cell collections
- Collection of cell therapy products from the peripheral blood of donors/patients and used subsequently for therapeutic purposes.
- It can be autologous (patient own cells) or allogeneic from a matched donor.
- It is done through an automated blood cell separator (apheresis machine) that is designed for the collection of blood components including stem cells and other cellular components from healthy donors or patients. Only a small amount of your blood passes through the machine at a time and the stem cells will be collected from the blood as it passes through.
What is this procedure used for?
- The procedure is used to collect mononuclear cells (also called stem cells) as part of the stem cell transplant program.
- The collected cells are used for the management of different types of hematological malignancies and other blood diseases in different age groups.
- Common conditions treated with stem cell transplantation include multiple myeloma, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia.
- Other non-malignant disorders include aplastic anemia, severe combined immune deficiency syndrome (SCID), thalassemia, sickle cell anemia and other non-malignant blood diseases.
What type of access will be used during the procedure?
During the peripheral mononuclear cells collection procedure, a certain volume of blood is gradually removed through either:
- Inserted needle (IV cannula)
- Central line catheter
- Special port
If peripheral intravenous cannulas (IVs) are used, your arms will be raised up on pillows, and you will be asked to squeeze your fist to promote blood flow.
Does this procedure hurt?
- The procedure itself is not painful and most people report little to no discomfort. However, as with any needle puncture, there may be slight discomfort when the central line or IV cannula is inserted.
- Sometimes you might feel different sensations that are not painful, which include a slight pulsing from the instrument’s pump and a slight chill or cold sensation while blood returns to your body.
Pre-procedure assessment criteria
- Laboratory investigations (count of CD34 cells) (Add under image as a bullet point- remove this here)
How long does this procedure take?
Patients may need to come for the pre-procedure appointment before the actual procedure day for a sample drawn, assessment and preparations; assessing eligibility and consent. This may take one hour.
On the day of collection:
- Generally, the collection procedure itself takes around three to five hours, but the pre-procedure preparation, central line placement, etc., all may take another one to two hours.
- The number of procedures varies from donor to donor based on achieving the target dose of collection.
- It can take 1-3 consecutive days, sometimes more.
- It could be done in an outpatient setting, sometimes it needs hospital admission based on the donor’s/patient’s condition
How will the Stem Cell Transplantation procedure work for cancer patients?
- Stem Cell Transplants do not work against the cancer cells directly.
- The cancer cells will be destroyed by receiving very high doses of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both.
- Stem cells will help to replace the cells damaged by cancer.
