[Influence of obstetric factors on the quality of cord blood units collected for allogeneic transplantation].

Umbilical cord blood (CB) as a source of haematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic transplantation has many advantages over bone marrow and peripheral blood, however, a main limitation to its use in clinical setting is cell numbers. This study aimed to assess the impact of mother/neonatal factors on the quality of CB units, collected for allogeneic transplantation. We analyzed 33 CB units collected in University Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology "Maichin dom" and donated to the National public bank for stem cells, University Hospital "Alexandrovska", Sofia. A significant increase (p < 0.001) of total nucleated cell (TNC) values was found after CB processing. A trend of higher values of CD34+ cells was observed in CB units obtained from vaginal deliveries compared to Cesarian section births, and from female newborns compared to their male counterparts. CD34+ cell number positively correlated with CD34+ percentage and TNC count. Our preliminary data demonstrate the need of a large retrospective evaluation of different obstetric factors in order to establish criteria for appropriate selection in our country of umbilical cord blood donors for public banking.