BACKGROUND Maintaining the quality of cryopreserved cord blood is crucial. In this pilot study, we describe the results of the internal quality control program for a cord blood bank thus far. METHODS Donated cord blood units unsuitable for transplantation were selected for internal quality control once a month. One unit of cord blood, aliquoted into 21 capillaries, was cryopreserved and thawe...

Umbilical cord blood is an established source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation. It enjoys several advantages over bone marrow or peripheral blood, including increased tolerance for Human Leukocyte Antigen mismatches, decreased incidence of graft-versus-host disease, and easy availability. Unrelated cord blood does have limitations, however, especially in the treatment of adults. ...

Umbilical cord blood collected from the postpartum placenta and cord is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and is an alternative to bone marrow transplantation. In this review we wanted to describe the differences (in phenotype, cytokine production, quantity and quality of cells) between stem cells from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow and peripheral blood. HSCs present in cord b...

The 3rd Annual International Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Symposium took place in Los Angeles, California, on June 3–4, 2005. The Symposium was presented by the California Blood Bank Society, and was supported by unrestricted educational grants from International Cord Blood Bank StemCyte, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), and the Health Resources Services Administration and was ...

This issue of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine marks an important milestone in the journal’s mission to advance the clinical use of stem cells. Through a partnership with the Cord Blood Association, SCTM now includes a new section to showcase the newest and highest quality translational and clinical applications of cord blood and cord tissue-based therapies. Areas the new section will focus on...

103 Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant (UCBT) is a type of allogenic haematopoetic stem cell transplant. Stem cell transplantation as a mode of treatment of diseases was first successfully done by the pioneering work of a Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine, E. Donnall Thomas in 1957 . Throughout the past 50 years, numerous other researchers have improved the techniques of this previously...

Since the success of the first umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation in a child with Fanconi anaemia in 1989, great interests have emerged for this source of stem cells. UCB provides an unlimited source of ethnically diverse stem cells and is an alternative for bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Thus, UCB and manipulated stem cells a...

Over the last two decades umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation (UCBT) is increasingly used for a variety of malignant and benign hematological and other diseases. The main factor that limits the use of UCB to low weight recipients, mainly children and adolescents, is its low progenitor cell content. Various alternatives have been exploited to overcome this difficulty, including the transp...

To reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with unrelated donor bone marrow (BM) transplantation and potentially extend the pool of suitable donors, cryopreserved unrelated donor umbilical cord blood was considered as an alternate source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation. Patients with leukemia, BM failure syndrome, or inborn error of metabolism were eligible for a phase I c...