Author Description

"With great excitement, we present this inaugural edition of Getting Started in Collecting for Biotherapies. This project is a collaborative effort of apheresis physicians and allied health professionals across the United States, many of whom are considered experts in the field. As cellular therapy is expanding with numerous products at various stages of development, the demand for apheresis collection of mononuclear cells is growing exponentially. This resource is intended to assist facilities and health-care professionals at the beginning of a journey into apheresis collections for biotherapies. It contains several key concepts on operations, finance, donor medical management, and apheresis technical aspects. A discussion of collecting cells from children is included because pediatric apheresis can be significantly different from procedures for adults. The discussion dedicated to vascular access is also crucial, given that this is a key factor in the success of cell collections. Cellular therapy is a highly regulated field and thus, quality program management and regulatory aspects are also briefly reviewed. Moreover, for those centers that would like to implement both collecting and processing for biotherapies, there is a companion publication to this book titled Getting Started in Processing for Biotherapies (AABB Press, 2024)"--