Cord Blood Storage Bank

Cord Blood Transplants: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Cord Blood Transplants (CBT) vs. Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) or Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC):

• Since the umbilical cord blood is collected during the delivery, it involves no risks or any complicated procedures, whereas in the other methods, a donor must undergo anesthesia which presents additional risks such as infection.
• It has lower chances to get Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) since the umbilical cord blood’s stem cells are less mature than those of the other sources. This is a considerable advantage in the procedure of transplanting because the cord blood transplant does not require a “perfect match” for the donor and the receiver.
• The umbilical cord blood is generally stored in cryogenic deep freezers and therefore they are ready to use as and when required. Bone marrow matches take much longer to create the perfect match, if at all possible, and isn’t an ideal option in the case of an emergency.

Disadvantages of Cord Blood Transplants (CBT) vs. Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) or Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC):

• Since the stem cells from the umbilical cord blood are in their earlier stage of development, they are primitive in comparison to the other two sources: bone marrow and peripheral blood cells. The prematurity of stem cells may result in a delayed engraftment process, creating a longer period of time for healing. Any wound or operated portion of the body is more prone to serious infection.
• A typical umbilical cord blood harvesting will only provide enough stem cells that are adequate to transplant a bigger child or a small framed adult (weighing about 100 pounds).

There are many clinical trials where hundreds of adults were transplanted with umbilical cord blood, either by harvesting the stems cells in a laboratory prior to the procedure or by transplanting more than one unit of cord blood at a time.