Abstract
Allogeneic bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is the treatment
of choice for some malignant hematologic diseases, marrow failure syndromes, and severe
congenital immunodeficiency states. Since Gluckman et al reported in 1988 the first
successful human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling umbilical cord blood stem
cell transplantation, it has been known that cord blood is a valuable source of hematopoietic
stem cells. The Cord Blood Bank at the University Hospital of Dresden was founded
in 1997 and started collecting, processing, and cryoconserving umbilical cord blood
in August 1997. The cord blood bank is supported by the largest German donor registry:
Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei (DKMS) in Tübingen, Germany. With the informed consent
of the mothers, the collection is performed in collaboration with six hospitals in
Dresden, Berlin, and Bautzen. We routinely perform a volume reduction by centrifuging
the blood bag and expressing the leukocyte-rich supernatant. Routinely, sterility,
total nucleated cells (TNC), CD34+ cell count, HLA class I and II, ABO/Rh blood group,
and colony-forming units are evaluated. The maternal blood is screened for anti-immunodeficiency
virus (anti-HIV), anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), anti-hepatitis B surface antigen
(HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B surface (anti-HBs), anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc), anticytomegalovirus (anti-CMV), and toxoplasmosis and with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA). More than 1000 cord blood units could be collected.
Because of the required volume and cell count and because of sterility, 50% of the
collected units had to be discharged. Our results are comparable with data of other
cord blood banks: mean volume 79 mL; cell count after volume reduction-TNC, 7.16 ×
108; mononucleated cells (MNC), 3.75 × 108; CD34+ cells, 1.95 × 106; colony-forming units (CFU), 67.1 × 104. To increase the pool of potential umbilical cord blood units and in order to evaluate
the possibility for unrelated transplants, cryopreservation and banking of large numbers
of cord bloods are necessary.
Keywords:
Cord blood - cord-blood banking - stem cells - transplantation - DKMS
