Microbial contamination of peripheral blood and bone marrow hematopoietic cell products and environmental contamination in a stem cell bank: a single-center report.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) derived from peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) are frequently used for autologous and allogenic transplantations. Establishing quality control at appropriate steps of the stem cell preparation process is crucial for a successful transplantation. Microbial contamination of haematopoietic stem cells is rare but could cause a potentially mortal complication of a stem cells transplantation. We investigated the microbiological contamination of PB (291 donations) and BM (39 donations) products. Microbial cultures of 330 donations between January 2012 and June 2013 were retrospectively analyzed after the collection and preparation steps. The microbiological analysis was performed with an automated system. Hematopoietic stem cells were processed in a closed system. Additionally, in this report the environment of the working areas of stem cell preparation was monitored. We analyzed microbial contamination of the air in a class I laminar air flow clean bench at the time of preparation and in the laboratory once per month. We reported 9 (2.73%) contaminated HSC products. The most frequent bacteria isolated from PB and BM products were Bacillus species. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and Micrococcus species were the most frequent micro-organisms detected in the air microbial control. Microbial control results are necessary for the safety of hematopoietic stem cell products transplantation. Microbial control of hematopoietic stem cell products enables an early contamination detection and allows for knowledgeable decision making concerning either discarding the contaminated product or introducing an efficient antibiotic therapy. Each step of cell processing may cause a bacterial contamination. A minimum of manipulation steps is crucial for increasing the microbial purity of the transplant material. Also, the air contamination control is essential to ensure the highest quality standards of HSC products preparation.
Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. Electronic address: maria.kozlowska-skrzypczak@skpp.edu.pl.
M
M
Kozlowska-Skrzypczak
Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
E
E
Bembnista
Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
A
A
Kubiak
Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
P
P
Matuszak
Laboratory of Microbiology, University Hospital of Lord's Transfiguration, Poznan University of Medical Science, Poznan, Poland.
A
A
Schneider
Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland.
M
M
Komarnicki
D001407:Bacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001853:Bone Marrow; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008837:Micrococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification