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Effects of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor on potential normal granulocyte donors
1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. mccul001@tc.umn.edu
Background:
The use of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to increase the granulocyte count and the yield from leukapheresis in normal donors is leading to renewed interest in granulocyte transfusion. Therefore, it is important to understand the side effects of G-CSF.
Study Design And Methods:
We studied the effect of G-CSF on peripheral blood counts and recorded the side effects experienced 24 hours after an injection of G-CSF in normal subjects donating peripheral blood progenitor cells for research.
Results:
Following administration of G-CSF to 261 donors, the neutrophil count increased to 20.6 to 24.5 x 10(9) per microL depending on the dose of G-CSF. This represented a 6.2 to 7.4-fold increase over the neutrophil count before G-CSF administration. Of all donors, 69 percent experienced one or more side effects. The most common effects were: muscle and bone pain, headache, fatigue, and nausea. There was a relationship between the dose of G-CSF and the likelihood of experiencing a side effect. Most side effects were mild, but about 75 percent of donors took analgesics because of them.
Conclusions:
In a granulocyte donation program involving G-CSF stimulation, about two-thirds of donors would experience one or more side effects, but these would usually be mild and well tolerated.