Abstract
BackgroundBecause of limitations of transportation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, current recommendation calls for cryopreservation of allogeneic stem cell transplants before patient conditioning. A single cell therapy laboratory was selected to function as the central cryopreservation hub for all European registry donor transplants intended for the Australian-Pacific region. We examined properties of these transplants to ascertain how quality is maintained.MethodsWe analyzed 100 pandemic-related allogeneic mobilized blood-derived stem cell apheresis products generated at 30 collection sites throughout Europe, shipped to and cryopreserved at our center between April and November of 2020. Products were shipped in the cool, subsequently frozen with DMSO as cryoprotectant. Irrespective of origin, all products were frozen within the prescribed shelf-life of 72 h.ResultsPrior to cryopreservation, viable stem cell and leukocyte count according to the collection site and our reference laboratory were highly concordant (r2 = 0.96 and 0.93, respectively) and viability was > 90% in all instances. Median nominal post-thaw recovery of viable CD34+ cells was 42%. Weakly associated with poorer CD34+ cell recovery was higher leukocyte concentration, but not time lag between apheresis or addition of cryopreservant, respectively, and start of freezing. The correlation between pre- and post-thaw CD34+ cell dose was high (r2 = 0.85), hence predictable. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment were prompt with no evidence of dose dependency within the range of administered cell doses (1.31–15.56 × 106 CD34+ cells/kg).ConclusionsGeneral cryopreservation of allogeneic stem cell transplants is feasible. While more than half of the CD34+ cell content is lost, the remaining stem cells ensure timely engraftment.
Highlights
Because of limitations of transportation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, current recommendation calls for cryopreservation of allogeneic stem cell transplants before patient conditioning
Europe being a main region of origin of registry donor hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) products as well as a major epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the German central stem cell donor registry (ZKRD) opted to recommend cryopreservation of all MUD HSPC transplants
We analyzed 100 allogeneic HSPC products from 90 donors which were all cryopreserved at our institution because of the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
Because of limitations of transportation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, current recommendation calls for cryopreservation of allogeneic stem cell transplants before patient conditioning. Europe being a main region of origin of registry donor HSPC products as well as a major epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the German central stem cell donor registry (ZKRD) opted to recommend cryopreservation of all MUD HSPC transplants. The ZKRD requested to employ for all product slated for the Australian-Pacific region huband-spoke logistics, whereby aphereses were performed close to the donor’s place of residence, shipped to a single central cryopreservation laboratory in Europe where they underwent processing and from where every couple of weeks the accumulated products were picked up and flown to Australia for distribution and shipping to the individual transplant centers. For this purpose, we analyzed 100 allogeneic HSPC products from 90 donors which were all cryopreserved at our institution because of the COVID-19 pandemic
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