Leukapheresis
Treating hospital: apheresis physician and nurse
- Collecting the patient’s lymphocytes through leukapheresis
- Packing the apheresis material for courier collection
Medical and clinical responsibility
Collecting the patient’s lymphocytes through leukapheresis
Treating hospital: apheresis physician and nurse
The collection of the patient’s T cells to engineer into YESCARTA®/TECARTUS® is performed by leukapheresis of peripheral blood and takes 3 to 6 hours.¹ Between one and four sessions are required to gain sufficient cell numbers, depending on the patient’s T-cell count.¹ ² Leukapheresis of 12–15 L is used to harvest 5–10 x 109 mononuclear cells.³
Apheresis uses centrifugal force to separate blood cells by density.4 Leukapheresis is tailored to the collection of mononuclear cells. More specifically, for CAR T cell manufacture, the aim is to harvest CD3+ lymphocytes.4 5
Prior to the procedure, patients should be fully informed of what the process involves and any risks.
Packing the apheresis material for courier collection
Treating hospital: apheresis physician and nurse
The Kite case manager arranges the logistics of the transportation of the apheresis material to Kite’s EU manufacturing facility in the Netherlands on the date agreed. The treating hospital is supplied with a patient-specific Nanocool™ shipper kit the day before scheduled apheresis, which the apheresis unit must carefully check for completeness and accurate labelling.
Following leukapheresis, the apheresis nurse packs the apheresis bag in the NanoCool™ shipper kit, which maintains a temperature range of 2°C to 8°C. The package is collected by a courier arranged by the Kite case manager.
Kite has set up strict labelling and verification steps for the handling and shipping of the apheresis material. It is absolutely essential for patient safety that the right YESCARTA®/TECARTUS® product is delivered to the right patient.
References
- Yescarta SmPC
- McGuirk J, et al. Building blocks for institutional preparation of CTL019 delivery. Cytotherapy 2017;19:1015-24.
- Protocol for Neelapu SS, Locke FL, Bartlett NL, et al. Axicabtagene ciloleucel CAR T-cell therapy in refractory large B-cell lymphoma. N Engl J Med 2017;377:2531-44.
- Fesnak A, et al. CAR T cell therapies from the transfusion medicine perspective. Transfus Med Rev 2016; 30(3):139-145.
- Allen ES, et al. Autologous lymphapheresis for the production of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Transfusion 2017;57:1133-41
SE-YES-0021 | 09/2024
Focus on the patient
Common patient questions
Anticipating and addressing the needs and concerns of patients
Patients may be unfamiliar with apheresis, so fully explain the process ahead of time. To manage patient expectations, emphasize the wait between cell collection and the delivery of YESCARTA®/TECARTUS®.
Patients’ questions may include:
- How are my T cells collected?
- Where do I go for my apheresis session?
- How do I prepare?
- Is the procedure painful?
- How will I feel after apheresis and do I need to take any precautions afterwards?
- What are the next steps in my care?
Information for patients
If you would like patient-friendly information on YESCARTA®/TECARTUS® to help you to explain this treatment to patients, please Contact Us to make a request.
In addition, you may wish to provide to your patients the contact details of trusted patient groups for more information and support on CAR T therapy.*
*Kite does not endorse or make any assurances regarding the accuracy of information on CAR T therapy provided by third party organizations.
