The 11th International Cord Blood Symposium was devoted to advances in umbilical cord blood (UCB) research and transplant. Results of cord blood transplant (UCB SCT) for congenital storage disease and hemoglobinopathies are encouraging, but UCB SCT may also be useful for older adults with hematologic malignancies, and UCB cells have potential in regenerative medicine, particularly for neurological disorders, and may serve as excellent targets for gene therapy. UCB donor selection should consider high resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, maternal HLA typing and detection of donor specific HLA antibodies. The issue of delayed hematopoietic reconstitution has hamstrung UCB SCT, but is addressed to a large extent by co-infusion of third-party progenitor cells. A number of cell expansion technologies also have great potential. Novel data show more limited benefits of double versus single umbilical cord blood transplant. Advances in quality control (QC) of UCB products and other improvements in cord blood banking technology will further improve the quality of stored UCB products.
Keywords: Basic biology; adoptive cellular therapies; clinical results; cord blood.