Optia® continuous mononuclear collection (CMNC) system is a safe and efficient system for hematopoietic progenitor cells‐apheresis (HPC‐a) collection and yields a lower product hematocrit (HCT%) than the COBE® spectra system: A retrospective study

Purpose We evaluated the Optia® continuous mononuclear collection (CMNC) system for hematopoietic progenitor cell‐apheresis (HPC‐A) collection (Terumo BCT, Lakewood, CO) compared to the COBE® Spectra (Terumo BCT, Lakewood, CO), including both large volume leukapheresis (LVL) and non‐LVL collections. Methods We performed a retrospective data analysis of all autologous HPC‐A collections with the Optia® CMNC system ( n  = 93; LVL = 59, non‐LVL = 34) since implementation at our institution and compared it with a similar number of concurrent collections utilizing the COBE® Spectra ( n  = 96; LVL = 68, non‐LVL = 28). The population studied included multiple myeloma (62 patients/171 collections) and lymphoma (5 patients/18 collections). Mobilization was achieved using chemotherapy + G‐CSF ( n  = 108), chemotherapy + G‐CSF + plerixafor ( n  = 67), G‐CSF alone ( n  = 10), or G‐CSF + plerixafor ( n  = 4). Based on our minimum predicted collection formula and the collection goal, 7‐30 L of whole blood was processed. Per protocol, a minimum of 2 days of collection was performed. Results HPC‐A collected on Optia® CMNC had lower %HCT than those collected on COBE® Spectra (3.7 versus 4.3%, P  = .029). There were no statistically significant differences between the two devices for other variables examined, including preapheresis WBC count and CD34+ cell count, procedure time, whole blood volume processed, collection efficiency (CE2), % platelet loss and throughput. CE2 for both devices was higher when <30 L of whole blood volume was processed. A linear correlation was noted between the preapheresis CD34+ cell count and CD34+ cells collected. No adverse events or bleeding episodes were noted, even when acetyl salicyclic acid (ASA) was given. Conclusions Optia® CMNC system is equivalent to the COBE® Spectra, with significantly lower product HCT%.