Plerixafor in Increasing CD34+ Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients must have confirmed and measurable sickle cell disease, defined by sickle cell anemia (SS) or sickle beta (SB) thalassemia confirmed by hemoglobin fractionation
• >= 18 to 65 years of age
• Patient must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =< 2 or Karnofsky score > 70%
• White blood cell (WBC) >= 3,000/uL
• Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,500/uL
• Platelets >= 150,000/uL
• Hemoglobin >= 6 gm/dL
• Calculated creatinine clearance* >= 60 ml/min * Using the Cockcroft-Gault equation
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for 3 months following treatment with plerixafor; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
• Each patient must be willing to participate as a research subject and must sign an informed consent form

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients who are: * Receiving or received treatment with an investigational agent within 4 weeks prior to entering the study OR * Have not recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 4 weeks earlier as determined by the treating physician
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase [SGPT]) > 2.5 x upper limit of normal
• Patients with a creatinine clearance of < 60 ml/min
• Patients who have uncontrolled illness including, but not limited to: * Ongoing or active infection * Emergency room admission or hospitalization in the past 14 days * Major surgery in the past 30 days * Medical/psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements as determined by the treating physician
• Female patients who are pregnant or breast-feeding
• Patients with active hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Patients with poor cardiac function as defined by an ejection fraction < 40% are excluded (only for patients enrolled on second phase of protocol for leukapheresis)