Transportation of peripheral blood progenitor cell products: effects of time, temperature and cell concentration

Background aimsPeripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) products are often transported at high cell concentrations (>200 × 109/L) over long distances, requiring >36 h transport time.MethodsFresh PBPC samples from 12 healthy donors were studied with various viability assays regarding the effects of temperature, cell concentration and duration of storage.ResultsTrypan blue exclusion was far less sensitive to cell damage than two-color fluorescence for CD34 and 7-AAD, and colony-forming unit–granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) assays; the latter assay proved the most sensitive. All products stored at 4°C maintained their viability for up to 4 days. Thus,