Background and objectives: Several transplantation outcomes have been shown to be associated with the infused bone marrow cell dose/kg of the recipient's body weight. The donor bone marrow density is directly related to the infused cell dose. The aim of the present study was to identify donor-related variables that are associated with high donor bone marrow density.
Materials and methods: We retrospectively analysed the predictive factors of high marrow density in 65 consecutive HLA-haploidentical bone marrow donors harvested at our centre between 2009 and 2013.
Results: Body mass index (BMI) and peripheral white blood cell (WBC) count were directly associated with bone marrow density (regression coefficient β = 5·33 and β = 2·93, respectively; P < 0·01). The likelihood of obtaining a collection with a high density was first predicted using BMI (BMI ≥30, mean density = 25·8 TNC/ml × 10(6) ). Second, donors with a BMI <30 were split into two groups according to peripheral WBC count (WBC <8 × 10(3) /mm(3) : mean density = 18·4 TNC/ml × 10(6) ; WBC ≥8 × 10(3) /mm(3) : mean density = 23·1 TNC/ml × 10(6) ). We also observed that the density of the first collected bag directly correlated with the overall density (R(2) = 0·69, P < 0·01).
Conclusion: The donor-related features BMI and WBC count affect the cell quantity obtainable with the harvest and should be taken into account when choosing the donor.
Keywords: bone marrow density; bone marrow donors; donor selection; haploidentical transplantation; predictive collection tree.
© 2016 International Society of Blood Transfusion.