How is CAR-T therapy done?

The nurses in the Apheresis Unit perform the apheresis under the supervision of the responsible medical team.

The apheresis is processed In the Immunotherapy Section, where the laboratory technicians manufacture the CAR-T. The immunology specialists provide approval throughout the production until the necessary dose is obtained and then frozen.

On the day of the infusion, an immunology specialist contacts the haematologists to bring the frozen doses to the patient's room, where they are thawed in a temperature-controlled bath and infused by Haematology nursing staff.

CAR-T therapy requires several steps. The apheresis is performed in the Apheresis Unit. Once the apheresis is processed, it is taken to the Immunology Service, where the CAR-T therapy is manufactured in one of the cellular bioreactors.

Once produced, it is preserved at very low temperatures (cryopreservation) until it is infused into the patient in the Hospital Haematology Service. Once there, the responsible immunotherapy medical professional thaws the product in the patient's room and the nursing staff infuse it into the patient.

CAR-T therapy production lasts between 7 and 12 days, depending on the dose that needs to be achieved for each patient. This dose depends on the disease and the patient's weight, since the administered dose is calculated in millions of CAR-T cells per kg weight.

The administration process between thawing and the intravenous infusion itself lasts 15-30 minutes, providing the patient does not react adversely to the medication.