All methods are in principle suitable and can be selected based on sample volume, available technology, and desired product specifications beyond RBC depletion and MNC and/or CD34+ cell recovery.

The process for CD34 selection with Prodigy is robust and labor-saving but not time-saving. Compared with clinical CD34+ selected products concurrently generated with the predecessor technology, product properties, importantly including CD34+ cell recovery and T-cell contents, were not significantly different. The automatic system is suitable for routine clinical application.

The CCS protocol on Prodigy is unrestrictedly functional. It runs fully automatically beyond set-up and thus markedly reduces labour. The quality of the products generated is similar to products generated with CliniMACS Plus. The automatic system is thus suitable for routine clinical application.

BackgroundRed blood cell (RBC) depletion is a standard graft manipulation technique for ABO-incompatible bone marrow (BM) transplants. The BM processing module for Spectra Optia, “BMC”, was previously introduced. We here report the largest series to date of routine quality data after performing 50 clinical-scale RBC-depletions.MethodsFifty successive RBC-depletions from autologous (n = 5) and allogeneic (n = 45) BM transplants were performed with the Spectra Optia BMC apheresis suite. Product quality was assessed before and after processing for volume, RBC and leukocyte content; RBC-depletion and stem cell (CD34+ cells) recovery was calculated there from. Clinical engraftment data were collected from 26/45 allogeneic recipients.ResultsMedian RBC removal was 98.2% (range 90.8–99.1%), median CD34+ cell recovery was 93.6%, minimum recovery being 72%, total product volume was reduced to 7.5% (range 4.7–23.0%). Products engrafted with expected probability and kinetics. Performance indicators were stable over time.DiscussionSpectra Optia BMC is a robust and efficient technology for RBC-depletion and volume reduction of BM, providing near-complete RBC removal and excellent CD34+ cell recovery.