A practical procedure for the cryopreservation of marrow cells intended for autotransplantation.

A simple and practical method of unfractionated bone marrow processing and cryopreservation was studied. The date shows that RBCs can be rapidly sedimented by methylcellulose or sodium carboxymethyl starch within 15-45 min. The cells can be cryopreserved in a mixture consisting of 5% DMSO, 6% HES and 4% Albumin prepared in a Lactated Ringer solution which is widely used, and can be simply immersed into a -80 degrees C freezer and stored in liquid nitrogen until infusion. Recovery percentages of nucleated cell, cell viability and CFU-G were similar to those cryopreserved with the conventional method. Clinical toxicity was mild in 12 infused patients. Of them 8 patients had received high dose chemotherapy +/- TBI and their peripheral WBC recovery was rapid. The recovery of WBC or Platelet (PLT) in the study group was similar to that of the control group whose marrow cells were cryopreserved in 10% DMSO. Therefore, cells cryopreserved with this method can also accelerate the hematopoietic recovery in myeloablatively treated patients.