Worldwide survey on key indicators for public cord blood banking technologies: By the World Marrow Donor Association Cord Blood Working Group.

The Cord Blood Working Group of the World Marrow Donor Association created a survey for cord blood banks (CBBs) aimed to identify and understand the main technical procedures currently used by public CBBs worldwide regarding cord blood units (CBUs) available for unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These technical procedures include CBU collection, (pre-) processing, packaging, testing, storage, and transport. The survey was an online survey created with SurveyGizmo and was completed individually by each CBB at the end of 2017.

Unlicensed Umbilical Cord Blood Units Provide a Safe and Effective Graft Source for a Diverse Population: A Study of 2456 Umbilical Cord Blood Recipients.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation (UCBT) is a curative procedure for patients with hematologic malignancies and genetic disorders and expands access to transplantation for non-Caucasian patients unable to find a fully matched unrelated donor. In 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration required that unrelated UCBT be performed using either licensed UCB or unlicensed UCB under the Investigational New Drug (IND) program. The National Marrow Donor Program manages an IND under which 2456 patients (1499 adults and 957 children, 564 with malignant diseases and 393 with nonmalignant diseases) underwent single or double UCBT between October 2011 and December 2016.

Evaluation of the impact of banking umbilical cord blood units with high cell dose for ethnically diverse patients.

Background: Umbilical cord blood units provide an important stem cell source for transplantation, particularly for patients of ethnic diversity who may not have suitably matched available, adult-unrelated donors. However, with the cost of cord blood unit acquisition from public banks significantly higher than that for adult-unrelated donors, attention is focused on decreasing cost yet still providing cord blood units to patients in need. Historical practices of banking units with low total nucleated cell counts, including units with approximately 90 × 10 total nucleated cells, indicates that most banked cord blood units have much lower total nucleated cell counts than are required for transplant.

How transplant centers deal with the dextran shortage: recommendations for comparing alternatives.

Background: In the United States, dextran 40 in 0.9% NaCl is the preferred reagent for the thawing and preparation of cord blood units for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The recurring nationwide shortage of this reagent could have implications that extend to the avoidance of cord blood for transplantation.