Abstract: A bleed recovery system for use in a bioreactor system is disclosed. The bleed recovery system being configured to recover product of interest from the bleed material of the bioreactor system. In one embodiment, the bioreactor system includes a bleed recovery system for removing cell cultures from the bioreactor. The bleed recovery system includes a bleed pump coupled to the bioreactor so that cell bleed material can be removed from the bioreactor, a bleed vessel for receiving the cell bleed material, a cell retention device coupled to the bleed vessel, a harvest pump coupled to the cell retention device to deposit the product of interest into a second harvest tank, and a bleed pump connected to the bleed vessel to deposit the spent bleed material into a waste tank. Thus arranged, some or all of the product of interest can be separated from the spent medium.