Cord Blood Transplants - Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Cord Blood Transplants -versus- Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) or Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC)

• Harvesting umbilical Cord Blood poses no risk to mother or child, whereas a bone marrow donor must undergo anesthesia and is exposed to the risk of infection.
• Umbilical Cord Blood can be stored in cryogenic freezers, ready for use as soon as it is needed, whereas the process of contacting and testing donors listed in a registry takes weeks to months.
• Because the Stem Cells in cord blood are less mature than those in bone marrow or peripheral blood, they carry much lower incidence of graft versus host disease (GVHD). Thus, cord blood transplants do not require a “perfect match” between the donor and the patient. In the world of transplants, this is a very big advantage.

Disadvantages of CBT -versus- BMT or PBSCT:

• Because the Stem Cells in cord blood are more primitive than those in bone marrow or peripheral blood, the engraftment process takes longer with cord blood, leaving the patient vulnerable to a fatal infection for a longer period of time. This is a significant disadvantage.
• A typical cord blood harvest only contains enough Stem Cells to transplant a large child or small adult (weighing approx. 100 pounds). Clinical trials have also transplanted hundreds of adults with cord blood, either by growing the cells in a lab prior to transplant, or by transplanting more than one cord blood unit at a time.

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