Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor versus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor for collection of peripheral blood progenitor cells from healthy donors

The harvesting of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) after granulocy te colony-stimulating factor or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating f actor stimulation instead of bone marrow in healthy donors has become incre asingly popular. Donors, given the choice between bone marrow and PBPC dona tion, often prefer cytapheresis because of the easier access, no necessity for general anesthesia, and no multiple bone marrow punctures, In addition, accelerated engraftment and immunomodulation by granulocyte colony-stimula ting factor-mobilized PBPCs are advantageous for the recipient. However! be cause of donor inconvenience and poor mobilization, there is a need to deve lop improved procedures. Aspects such as durability of hematopoietic engraf tment, characterization of the earliest stem cell, and composition of PBPCs are not yet well defined, and international donor registration and follow- up must be considered when evaluating long-term safety profiles in healthy donors. This review concentrates on the most significant developments on mo bilization of PBPCs published during the past year. (C) 2000 Lippincott Wil liams & Wilkins, Inc.