A method for quantification of peripheral blood admixture in bone marrow aspirates.

Peripheral blood admixture in bone marrow aspirates of twenty patients with hematologic diseases were studied either with 51Cr labeled autologous erythrocytes or 125I-lab eled albumin. In these bone marrow aspirates 97.0 +/- 4.2% (mean +/- SD) of te hemoglobin content appeared to be derived from peripheral blood. Assuming the presence of a proportional number of peripheral nucleated cells one may calculate the fraction of peripheral nucleated cells in bone marrow aspirates (Fpb) from its hemoglobin levels. The Fpb in the twenty patients studied, varied from 6 to 93%, whereas in a group of 25 healthy volunteers the mean Fpb +/- SD was 14 +/- 8%. In order to obtain reliable results in quantitative bone marrow studies one has to take into account the fraction of peripheral nucleated cells in bone marrow aspirates.