Background: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) contains stem cells and may be an alternative source to bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells for allogeneic transplantation for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and genetic disorders. Many UCB banks have been established worldwide to quickly provide high quality materials for transplantation. Moreover, a detailed set of standards for cord blood banking have been drawn to guarantee the quality of the products.
Study design and methods: The aim of this study was to analyze our activity between 1998 and 2001, seeking to improve the number of suitable UCB units. Written informed consent was obtained from healthy women with an uncomplicated pregnancy.
Results: During the study period, we collected 1060 UCB units; 328 (31%) were banked, whereas 732 (69%) were discarded. The collections were performed in 73% vaginal deliveries and 27% of cesarean sections. The main reason for the exclusion was biological; in fact, a low number of nucleated cells and a low volume accounted for 71% of the total discarded units. Moreover, 20% of the units were discarded because of parental clinical reasons.
Conclusions: Our study shows that maternal history must be completely reviewed before labor and obstetrical factors should be considered to improve the number of UCB units.