Impact of cord blood banking technologies on clinical outcome: a Eurocord/Cord Blood Committee (CTIWP), European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and NetCord retrospective analysis.

Background: Techniques for banking cord blood units (CBUs) as source for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have been developed over the past 20 years, aimed to improve laboratory efficiency without altering the biologic properties of the graft. A large-scale, registry-based assessment of the impact of the banking variables on the clinical outcome is currently missing.

Study Design And Methods: A total of 677 single cord blood transplants (CBTs) carried out for acute leukemia in complete remission in centers affiliated with the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation were selected.