A system and method for capturing and analyzing cells comprising: a fluid delivery module a reservoir configured to receive a biological sample including a target cell population and at least one fluid from the fluid delivery module a manifold configured to receive and distribute the biological sample and at least one fluid from the reservoir into a cell capture device a waste chamber configured to couple to the manifold and a pump configured to couple to the waste chamber. In embodiments of the system configured to promote further purification of captured cells, the system can further comprise a magnet that enables further separation of captured cells from undesired sample materials. The system can additionally further comprise a heater configured to heat at least one fluid and/or biological sample, and a cell capture device configured to couple to the manifold, in order to facilitate capture of the target cell population.
