A Freezing Protocol for Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Abstract

Especially in the field of autologous transplantation, it has been found necessary to develop methods that ensure long-term storage with maintenance of functionality of the cells to bridge the therapy-related temporal separation of collection and application. Based on the experiences of more than 40 years, some practical considerations, especially regarding the cell concentration, final volume, and possibly other exogenous substances, should be considered when establishing a protocol for the routine cryopreservation of peripheral blood stem cells. In the following chapter, we describe a freezing protocol for cryopreservation of peripheral blood stem cells which was used and optimized over the past 8 years and was applied to the cryopreservation of more than 2000 peripheral stem cell transplants.