Impact of ethnicity on human umbilical cord blood banking: a systematic review

Background: How ethnicity impacts characteristics of umbilical cord blood collected by cord blood banks remains unclear.

Study design and methods: After a systematic search, we identified 11 studies for analysis that reported on various variables of collected cord blood units.

Results: Non-Caucasian ethnicity of the cord blood donor was associated with a higher risk of failing to meet banking criteria, lower cord blood volume, reduced total nucleated cell count, fewer CD34+ cells, and reduced colony-forming units.

Conclusions: Non-Caucasian ethnicity is associated with reductions in hematopoietic measures of collected cord blood units. Public banking efforts will have to balance issues related to building ethnic diversity within the bank and maintaining the characteristics of banked units that remain desirable by transplant centers.