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Mean number of collection days was similar in LEN pos vs. LEN neg group (2.11 vs. 2, P = .47). Median collected CD34 was 8.6 vs. 11.3 in LEN pos and LEN neg group with no significant difference (P = .12). Mean time to neutrophil engraftment was not different between LEN pos vs. LEN neg (10. 58 vs. 10.55, days P = .45). Mean time to platelet engraftment was also similar (19.3 vs. 21.7 days, P = .19). There was one platelet engraftment failure in LEN neg group. There was a significant correlation between collected TNC and BFU-E as well as TNC and CFU-GM, however there was no significant difference between LEN pos and LEN neg group. The overall rate of day 1 collection failure was 14.2% with no statistically significant difference between LEN pos and LEN neg groups (Median: 13.5% vs. 14.6%; P = .39). There was no detected difference in progression-free survival. Conclusion: In this cohort of heavily pretreated pts, use of LEN prior to PBSC collection did not affect stem cell collection, graft quality or engraftment. High usage of Plerixafor may have overcome the deleterious effect of LEN. The impact of LEN on stem cell collection and transplantation should be evaluated in prospective clinical trials (Figures 1-3).

Introduction: In neutropenic patients bacterial and fungal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in hematological malignancies and post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We present here a single institution experience with the use of granulocyte transfusions in children with severe neutropenic sepsis. Material and methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 48 children who received a total of 120 granulocyte transfusions following mobilization with colony-stimulating growth factor (G-CSF) and dexamethasone. Results: Favorable response was seen in 41.6% of the children without any major adverse effects in donor or recipient. Conclusion and clinical significance: Granulocyte transfusions hence may be a useful adjunct to antimicrobials and growth factors in neutropenic sepsis refractory to conventional antimicrobials.

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Determination of the magnitude of body iron stores helps to identify individuals at risk of iron-induced organ damage in Thalassemia patients. The most direct clinical method of measuring liver iron concentration (LIC) is through chemical analysis of needle biopsy specimens.Here we present a noninvasive method for the measurement of LIC in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty-three pediatric Thalassemia major patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation at our centre were studied. All 23 patients had MRI T2* and R2* decay time for evaluation of LIC on a 1.5 Tesla MRI system followed by liver tissue biopsy for the assessment of iron concentration using an atomic absorption spectrometry. Simultaneously, serum ferritin levels were measured by enzymatic assay. We have correlated biopsy LIC with liver T2* and serum ferritin values with liver R2*. Of the 23 patients 11 were males, the mean age was 8.3 ± 3.7 years. The study results showed a significant correlation between biopsy LIC and liver T2* MRI (r = 0.768; p \ 0.001). Also, there was a significant correlation between serum ferritin levels and liver R2* MRI (r = 0.5647; p \ 0.01). Two patients had high variance in serum ferritin levels (2100 and 4100 mg/g) while their LIC was around 24 mg/g, whereas the difference was not seen in T2* MRI. Hence, the liver T2* MRI is a better modality for assessing LIC. Serum ferritin is less reliable than quantitative MRI. The liver T2* MRI is a safe, reliable, feasible and cost-effective method compared to liver tissue biopsy for LIC assessment.