Clinical Cell Therapy Laboratory

Clinical Cell Therapy Staff: Judy Pfeifer, Giovanna Cameron, Jennifer Danielson, Angela Hall, Dr. Donna Hogge (Medical Director)

(absent: Connie Kwan)

The Clinical Cell Therapy laboratory (CCT) is an integral part of the Leukemia / Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program of British Columbia.  The laboratory is responsible for preparing hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) for transplant.  Blood or bone marrow HPCs are collected from cancer patients (autologous HPCs) or healthy donors (allogeneic HPCs) and cryopreserved in the laboratory.  They are then stored at ultra low temperatures in liquid nitrogen until the patient has received high dose chemotherapy.  The cells are then thawed and transfused into the patient to allow recovery of normal blood counts.  HPC transplants can be prescribed for a variety of cancers such as leukemia, myeloma or lymphoma.  Under the direction of Dr. Donna Hogge, the CCT’s trained staff processes, cryopreserves, and stores HPC collections in a secured laboratory until the patient is ready for transplant.  Successfully preparing and storing these cells is accomplished through strict adherence to validated protocols and rigorous monitoring of the storage freezers, controlled rate freezers and transport containers.

Over the past 20 years, HPC collections have been processed and cryopreserved to help patients from throughout British Columbia.  Currently, over 500 patient products are stored in the laboratory’s liquid nitrogen vapour phase freezers.  Approximately 300 procedures were performed in 2007 alone.   

The CCT laboratory participates in clinical trials in which HPCs require manipulation in a laboratory setting pre-transplant.  As new treatment options are considered, the CCT laboratory is also part of the team developing methodologies and ensuring the safety, purity and efficacy of novel cellular products.  Currently, the staff is involved in investigating a protocol to enable adults to undergo cord blood transplants – something that is presently hindered by the generally small cell numbers recovered during the collection of cord cells.

The Clinical Cell Therapy laboratory will continue to play a key role in facilitating the design and implementation of new cellular therapies for patients of the Leukemia/BMT Program.