Bag of Cells Sent to California to Be Used to Kill Lymphoma
Safe arrival in California
Along the way, Matthews was assigned an ID that linked him to his cells. This allowed him to track the parts of his body that were being bioengineered to be cancer warriors.
Once in California the cells went to a site called Kite Pharma. The cells were bar coded and matched to the ID. This strict adherence to identification serves two purposes:
The first is to prevent a mishap which may lead to the wrong person receiving cells intended for someone else. Simple to say, that would not be good.
The other purpose is to humanize the entire process. Every technician at the training facility knows that they are not working on nameless cells. They are working to help a named individual fight back.
According to the executive vice president of technical operations at Kite, Time Moore, “You know their life is in your hands. I can honestly say people really get that and are highly motivated to make a difference for that patient.”
Once the cells were properly identified, the technicians tested them again, to ensure they were still healthy and pure. Then they went into an incubator to produce more, to prepare for the genetic engineering ahead.
