Umbilical Cord Blood TransplantationBlood and Marrow transplantation can be curative for a wide range of disorders, including leukemias, bone marrow failure syndromes, immune deficiency disorders and metabolic diseases. When there is no suitably matched donor within the family, other donor sources are searched. Recently, umbilical cord blood has emerged as an alternative stem cell source. As experience has grown with the use of cord blood in a variety of transplant settings, known and potential benefits have emerged over conventional transplantation. These include:
These have to be balanced against potential disadvantages, such as:
Volunteer marrow donor registries and cord blood banks are simultaneously searched for suitable donors. For many patients, both unrelated donor bone marrow and unrelated cord blood are available as potential options for transplantation. The final choice of stem cell source takes into account a number of factors including:
Since the first successful use of umbilical cord blood transplantation more than 12 years ago, storage facilities or "banks" have been established worldwide to supply cord blood as an alternative to bone marrow. As the experience in the use of cord blood for transplantation grows, evidence is emerging in support of its use as an alternative source of stem cells where a well-matched family donor is not available. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is taking part in a national trial examining the role of cord blood for stem cell transplantation in children. |
