The Swim Across America Cellular Therapy Lab has responsibility for processing, testing, storing, transporting, and assisting with the infusion of cellular therapy products used for autologous, related and unrelated allogeneic transplantation at Fred Hutch. These areas are regulated under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), thus a critical aspect for cellular therapy providing these services is compliance with governmental regulations and guidelines.
Infusion of Cellular Therapy Products
Processing encompasses procedures such as volume reduction, red cell and plasma reduction, washing of cells to remove cryoprotective media, and more complex procedures such as CD34 and CD 8 enrichment and T-cell depletion.
Testing includes quantitative flow cytometry for CD34 and CD3 content, nucleated cell counts, and hematopoietic progenitor cell cultures on cell therapy products as well as monitoring peripheral blood samples during mobilization to optimize apheresis collections.
Storage involves addition of cryoprotective media to products, followed by controlled rate freezing and placement into the vapor phase in liquid nitrogen freezers.
Transport services include meeting couriers and taking delivery of unrelated donor components, characterizing those cell products by flow cytometry, and transportation of products to the recipient’s ward.
Cellular therapy delivers cryopreserved or washed products to the recipient’s bedside (both inpatient and outpatient), and has the responsibility for thawing of the cryopreserved specimens at the bedside and assisting with product infusion. The laboratory provides surgical technician personnel who schedule and assist with bone marrow harvesting in the operating rooms at UW Medical Center - Montlake and at Seattle Children's as well as regional medical centers for both Fred Hutch and NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program) donors.
Cellular therapy also provides critical research support for Fred Hutch partner organizations, offering similar type services for non-clinical specimens (ie: quantitative flow cytometry, controlled rate freezing, storage, etc.).
On behalf of our patient care team, researchers, and especially our patients, Fred Hutch would like to thank Swim Across America for its continued support through the annual Swim Across America Seattle Swim. We are proud to have named this lab in their honor, in celebration of reaching the milestone of donating $1,000,000 to Fred Hutch.