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Treatment

Pediatric Blood Stem Cell Collection

What You Need to Know

Children's National's Hospital experienced transfusion medicine specialists oversee peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC) procedures, performed by the Blood Donor Center's technical staff. The Blood Donor Center team is extensively trained in performing many therapeutic apheresis(1) procedures on pediatric patients. More than 150 PBSC collections in the last six years have been performed by the center. Children's National's Hematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory processes peripheral blood stem cells for blood and marrow transplantations(2).

Stem Cells

Stem cells are the cells within the body that constantly renew themselves and generate other cells of the body. Peripheral blood stem cells(3) are the cells that come from a person's bone marrow(4). Often these cells become much higher in blood after either chemotherapy(5) (as a response to low blood counts) or after using growth factor-stimulating medicines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection

Stem cell apheresis

Autologous collection

Glossary of Terms

1 Apheresis: The process of removing only a selected type of blood cells from a blood donor and simultaneously returning all the others

2 Transplant: A medical treatment to replace a recipient’s diseased organ or tissues with a healthy organ or tissue from a donor

3 Peripheral Blood Stem Cells: Cells with the potential to produce all the components of blood. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) are obtained from “circulating” blood rather than from bone marrow

4 Bone Marrow: The spongy center of bones that is the “factory” for all blood cells in circulation

5 Chemotherapy: Treatment for cancer using chemical substances designed to kill cancer cells. It is used in large doses to help destroy a patient’s diseased marrow in preparation for a marrow transplant

View full glossary

Meet the Providers of Blood Stem Cell Collection

Departments that Offer Blood Stem Cell Collection

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    Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Whether your child needs a simple blood test or more advanced laboratory procedure, we understand it can be a frightening experience for a child and difficult for parents.

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