HEMATOPOIETIC-CELL TRANSPLANTATION USING PLASMA AND DMSO WITHOUT HES,WITH NON-PROGRAMMED FREEZING BY IMMERSION IN A METHANOL BATH - RESULTS IN 213 CASES

A simplified cryopreservation method for bone marrow (BM) and peripher al blood progenitor cells (PBPC) was utilized in hematopoietic cell tr ansplantation of 213 patients with hematological or solid neoplasms af ter ablative chemotherapy (187 with peripheral blood progenitor cells and 26 with bone marrow), Cells were cryopreserved, after addition of autologous fresh plasma with DMSO, without HES, by freezing to -80 deg rees C in a methanol bath and non-programmed freezer, For the patients autotransplanted with PBPC, the median period necessary for recovery of more than 0.5 x 10(9)/l granulocytes was 11 days (range 6-44), and 15 (8-204) days were required to obtain more than 20 x 10(9)/l platele ts, For the patients autotransplanted with BM, the median period neces sary to recover >0.5 x 10(9)/l granulocytes was 12 days (range 9-33), and 24 (12-57) days to obtain more than 20 x 10(9)/l platelets, These results support this method as being very effective in achieving high- quality cryopreservation, The procedure, which uses a non-programmed f reezer, simplifies and reduces enormously the cost of the technical me asures currently in use, enabling its adoption in almost any clinical oncological institution.