Blood Res.  2014 Dec;49(4):228-233. 10.5045/br.2014.49.4.228.

Transplant physicians' perceptions of cord blood transplantation in Korea: a questionnaire survey

• Choi BS
• Mun YC
• Kim JY
• Lee YH
• Cord Blood Committee in Korean Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

• KMID: 2270679
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5045/br.2014.49.4.228

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Although bone marrow (BM) or mobilized peripheral blood (PB) is frequently used as the source of hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) using cord blood (CB) is gradually gaining popularity in many countries. However, BM or PB is still preferred over CB in Korea. Therefore, we tried to assess the awareness of CB transplantation (CBT) among domestic HSCT physicians and develop strategies for boosting its utilization by administering questionnaires to some of these physicians.
METHODS
A direct questionnaire survey was conducted using the "Audience Response System" among 301 members who attended the annual meeting of the Korean Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. The data were analyzed for only 67 board certified physicians who were directly involved in HSCT activities.
RESULTS
The poor outcomes resulting from insufficient experience in CBT was designated by the physicians as the main reason for the low domestic implementation of HSCT using CB. Other reasons identified in the survey were distrust in the quality and management of domestic CB and the high cost of obtaining CB.
CONCLUSION
Increasing the use of donated CB would foremost require increasing the inventory of donated CB containing a sufficient cell number for CBT and securing structured quality control of the CB banks. In addition, it would be necessary to minimize CB supply costs and continue to provide academic data, including CBT guidelines, so that clinicians could perform CBT with more confidence.

Keyword

Cord blood; Utilization; Questionnaire

MeSH Terms

Bone Marrow
Cell Count
Fetal Blood*
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Korea
Quality Control
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

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  Fig. 1 General awareness of cord blood transplantation worldwide.

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  Fig. 2 General awareness of domestic cord blood transplantation in Korea, regarding knowledge, procedure, and outcome of cord blood transplantation, compared to world class. Abbreviation: W/C, world class.

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  Fig. 3 General awareness of the handling and management of domestic cord blood in Korea.

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  Fig. 4 Reasons for the low frequency of domestic cord blood transplantation. Abbreviation: CBT, cord blood transplantation.

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  Fig. 5 The advantages (A) and disadvantages (B, C) of cord blood as an alternative source. Abbreviations: BM, bone marrow; PB, peripheral blood.

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  Fig. 6 Opinions about the current supply cost of cord blood (A) and expectations for the supply cost (B).

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  Fig. 7 Consideration of cord blood as an alternative donor when searching for an unrelated donor.

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  Fig. 8 Opportunity to select cord blood when the search program is upgraded to include unrelated donors simultaneously.

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  Fig. 9 The choice of next donor when a HLA-matched domestic unrelated adult donor is unavailable. Abbreviation: Ag, antigen.

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  Fig. 10 Reasons for not choosing cord blood as an alternative donor.

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  Fig. 11 Opinions regarding promoting domestic cord blood transplantation (clinical elements). Abbreviations: CBT, cord blood transplantation; CB, cord blood.

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  Fig. 12 Opinions regarding promoting domestic cord blood transplantation (overall conditions). Abbreviation: CB, cord blood.

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