More about umbilical cord blood stem cells and their uses today
The independent articles identified below are written by doctors, scientists and other people outside Virgin Health Bank. Whilst we can answer your questions about Virgin Health Bank, we’re not able to comment on work done or things written by other people. These references don’t necessarily represent our views at Virgin Health Bank – they’re intended to help you understand stem cell storage. Thousands of other references exist that aren’t included here, and our comments on each reference are just to give you some useful pointers, they are not complete summaries of each article.
History of the clinical use of umbilical cord blood haematopoietic cells
Gluckman E, Rocha, V
Cytotherapy. 2005;7(3):219–27
This is a paper from 2005 that reviews the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells today for the treatment of blood disorders such as leukaemia. It discusses how cord blood stem cell transplants work and what happens to patients that receive them, the paper also reviews the history of cord blood transplants from the first one in 1988.
Cord blood banking
Warwick R, Armitage, Sue
Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2004 Dec;18(6):995–1011
This paper from 2004 discusses the advantages and disadvantages of umbilical cord blood when used for transplants. It explains how a cord blood bank should be organised, and discusses the various process involved such as consent, collection, processing and testing of cord blood.
Clinical use of umbilical cord blood haematopoietic stem cells
Rocha V, Gluckman, Eliane
Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2006 Jan;12(1 Suppl 1):34–41
This paper from 2006 also discusses the uses, advantages and disadvantages of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants in the here and now. It covers what happens to people that have had an umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant and suggests what research should happen in the future to further improve our understanding of cord blood.
Unrelated cord blood transplants in adults with hematologic malignancies
Rocha, Vanderson; Arcese W, Wernet, Peter; Gluckman, Eliane; Arcese, William; Sanz, Guillermo; Sirvent, Anne; Ionescu, Irina; Iori, Anna Paola; Labopin, Myriam; de Lima, Marcos; Busca, Alessandro; Asano, Shigheta
Haematologica. 2006 Feb;91(2):223–30
This paper from 2006 discusses what happened to adults that were given cord blood stem cell transplants and discusses different ways in which umbilical cord blood can be used. There is a lot of science in this paper; however the conclusion is that cord blood stem cells are a ‘clear alternative’ for adults that cannot find a matched donor. This means that for some people, even if they cannot find an exact match for their tissue type, cord blood may still be able to help them.
Transplants of umbilical-cord blood or bone marrow from unrelated donors in adults with acute leukaemia
Rocha V, Gluckman, Eliane; Arcese, William; Sanz, Guillermo; Labopin, Myriam; de Lima, Marcos; Schwerdtfeger, Rainer; Bosi, Alberto; Jacobsen, Niels; Ruutu, Tapani; Finke, Jürgen; Frassoni, Francesco
N Engl J Med. 2004 Nov 25;351(22):2276–85
This study looked specifically at adults with leukaemia to see if cord blood stem cell transplants are as effective as bone marrow transplants. There are ‘pros and ‘cons to both treatments, however this paper found that the outcome was similar for both groups of people. By having more cord blood units available for transplant, it is possible that doctors will be able to treat more adults with leukaemia than is currently possible.
Stem cell transplantation (cord blood transplants)
Chao NJ, Emerson SG, Weinberg KI
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2004;:354–71
This paper from 2004 reviews the use of umbilical cord blood transplants in the USA, there were more than 600 transplants in 2003 in the USA and the article discusses the pro’s and con’s of cord blood transplantation, what we are learning about umbilical cord blood stem cells and what happened to people that received the transplants.
Umbilical cord blood transplantation and banking
Brunstein, Claudio G; Brunstein CG, Wagner, John E
Annu Rev Med. 2006;57:403–17
This paper from 2006 is another review of the use today of umbilical cord blood stem cells, it points out that around half the people that could benefit from a bone marrow transplant cannot find a matched donor. This is one reason why larger public banks of umbilical cord blood stem cells may mean that more people can be treated.