Maternal and Neonatal Predictors of Hematopoietic Potential of Umbilical Cord Blood Units

Choi, Soo Jin; Yang, Sung Eun; Yang, Yoon Sun

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a useful source for hematopoietic stem cells especially when HLA-matched donors are unavailable. UCB banking is expensive, however, because only a small fraction of cryopreserved units is used for transplantation. In order to make the criteria for selecting optimal UCB units at the time of collection, we examined the effects of maternal and neonatal factors on the laboratory parameters of hematopoietic potential of UCB units.
METHODS
Total number of 1,692 UCB units processed in our UCB bank was analyzed to determine the effects of maternal and neonatal factors such as maternal age, birth weight, gestational duration, and sex of baby on the laboratory parameters of hematopoietic potential including the volume of UCB units and the numbers of total nucleated cells (TNC), mononuclear cells (MNC), and CD34+cells.
RESULTS
Bigger babies yielded larger volumes of UCB, more TNC, MNC and CD34+cells. Babies of longer gestational duration also yielded higher numbers of TNC and MNC, but the number of CD34+cells was declined. No significant effect by maternal age was noticed on the volume of UCB, TNC, MNC, or CD34+cells.
CONCLUSION
Optimal results would be obtained by selecting babies with weight equal to or more than 3,350g and gestational duration from 38 weeks through 39.7 weeks. These data may be used as important criteria for selecting UCB units for banking and cost-effective bank operation.