hematol transfus cell ther. 2 0 1 8; 4 0(3) :213–218 www.rbhh.org Hematology, Transfusion and Cell Therapy Original article Quantification of peripheral blood CD34 + cells prior to stem cell harvesting by leukapheresis: a single center experience Natália Emerim Lemos a,b,∗ , Mariela Granero Farias b , Francyne Kubaski b , Luciana Scotti b , Tor Gunnar Hugo Onsten b , Letícia de Almeida Brondani b , Sandrine Comparsi Wagner a,c , Leo Sekine b a Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil b Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil c Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 21 December 2017 Accepted 30 January 2018 Available online 15 March 2018 Keywords: Transplantation Apheresis CD34 + progenitor cells Flow cytometry a b s t r a c t Background: Due to laboratory logistic issues, our center has traditionally scheduled periph- eral blood stem cell harvests based on timing from the start of mobilization. This has proved to be useful in some cases, but also resulted in many fruitless harvests due to poor mobi- lization. In order to improve the efficiency of collections and compare the effectiveness of peripheral blood CD34 + cells as a predictor with data from other reports, this study analyzed the implementation of this routine. Methods: Peripheral blood and leukapheresis samples were quantified by flow cytometry and the association between these parameters was assessed. Results: Sixty-six consecutive leukapheresis samples were collected from 34 patients after the collection of peripheral blood samples for CD34 + quantification. A moderate positive correlation was observed between peripheral blood CD34 + cell count and total CD34 + cell count/kg (r = 0.596; p-value < 0.001). A multivariable regression model also confirmed this association and allowed the estimation that for every increase in five CD34 + cells/L in the peripheral blood, a mean increase of 0.38 × 10 6 CD34 + cells/kg could be predicted. Demo- graphic characteristics, baseline comorbidities and mobilization regimen did not influence final CD34 + cell count in this sample. Conclusions: As observed in other centers, quantification of peripheral blood CD34 + progen- itor cells is a strong predictor of effectiveness to guide stem cell harvesting. Due to the results of this study, a modification in the peripheral blood stem cell harvesting logistics was implemented at our center in order to incorporate this routine. © 2018 Associac ¸˜ ao Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ∗ Corresponding author at: Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Santa Cecília, Porto Alegre CEP: 90035-903, RS, Brazil. E-mail address: natiemerim@hotmail.com (N.E. Lemos). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.htct.2018.01.002 2531-1379/© 2018 Associac ¸˜ ao Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).