Intermittent-flow versus continuous-flow mononuclear cell apheresis.

An intermittent-flow (Haemonetics V-50) and a continuous-flow (Fenwall CS-3000) blood cell separator were compared regarding mononuclear cell (MNC) collection. 17 evaluable V-50 and 24 CS-3000 aphereses were performed on healthy donors. No significant difference was found in MNC yield (median 6.4 x 10(9) on V-50, 6.3 x 10(9) on CS-3000) or in CFU-GM yield (median 41 x 10(3) versus 43 x 10(3) respectively). Nevertheless, red blood cell as well as polymorphonuclear cell contamination was substantially greater on V-50 than on CS-3000, while platelet contamination was slightly lower on V-50 than on CS-3000. The continuous-flow apheresis system CS-3000 is concluded to be more suitable for MNC harvesting than the intermittent-flow system V-50.