A method for expanding tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) into a therapeutic population of TILs comprising: (a) adding processed tumor fragments from a tumor resected from a patient into a closed system to obtain a first population of TILs; (b) performing a first expansion by culturing the first population of TILs in a cell culture medium comprising IL-2 to produce a second population of TILs, wherein the first expansion is performed in a closed container providing a first gas-permeable surface area, wherein the first expansion is performed for about 3-11 days to obtain the second population of TILs, wherein the second population of TILs is at least 50-fold greater in number than the first population of TILs, and wherein the transition from step (a) to step (b) occurs without opening the system; (c) performing a second expansion by supplementing the cell culture medium of the second population of TILs with additional IL-2, OKT-3, and antigen presenting cells (APCs), to produce a third population of TILs, wherein the second expansion is performed for about 7-11 days to obtain the third population of TILs, wherein the third population of TILs is a therapeutic population of TILs, wherein the second expansion is performed in a closed container providing a second gas-permeable surface area, and wherein the transition from step (b) to step (c) occurs without opening the system; (d) harvesting the therapeutic population of TILs obtained from step (c), wherein the transition from step (c) to step (d) occurs without opening the system, and wherein the therapeutic population of TILs harvested comprises sufficient TILs for a therapeutically effective dosage of the TILs; (e) transferring the harvested TIL population from step (d) to an infusion bag, wherein the transfer from step (d) to (e) occurs without opening the system, and (f) cryopreserving the infusion bag comprising the harvested TIL population using a cryopreservation process. (a) adding processed tumor fragments from a tumor resected from a patient into a closed system to obtain a first population of TILs; (b) performing a first expansion by culturing the first population of TILs in a cell culture medium comprising IL-2 to produce a second population of TILs, wherein the first expansion is performed in a closed container providing a first gas-permeable surface area, wherein the first expansion is performed for about 3-11 days to obtain the second population of TILs, wherein the second population of TILs is at least 50-fold greater in number than the first population of TILs, and wherein the transition from step (a) to step (b) occurs without opening the system; (c) performing a second expansion by supplementing the cell culture medium of the second population of TILs with additional IL-2, OKT-3, and antigen presenting cells (APCs), to produce a third population of TILs, wherein the second expansion is performed for about 7-11 days to obtain the third population of TILs, wherein the third population of TILs is a therapeutic population of TILs, wherein the second expansion is performed in a closed container providing a second gas-permeable surface area, and wherein the transition from step (b) to step (c) occurs without opening the system; (d) harvesting the therapeutic population of TILs obtained from step (c), wherein the transition from step (c) to step (d) occurs without opening the system, and wherein the therapeutic population of TILs harvested comprises sufficient TILs for a therapeutically effective dosage of the TILs; (e) transferring the harvested TIL population from step (d) to an infusion bag, wherein the transfer from step (d) to (e) occurs without opening the system, and (f) cryopreserving the infusion bag comprising the harvested TIL population using a cryopreservation process.