Peripheral blood stem cells: a historical perspective

Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) are rapidly becoming the primary rescue modality for autologous transplantation and are now actively being investigated in the allogeneic transplant setting. Many investigators and clinical researchers believe that PBSC are likely to replace bone marrow stem cells entirely, for use in clinical transplantation in the not too distant future (1). In order to better understand the rapidly changing developments in this field, it would be helpful to understand the historical development of this technology. The purpose of this article is to build for the reader a strong historical foundation with the intent to integrate the history of peripheral blood stem cells with their subsequent isolation, mobilization, collection, and clinical applications.