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The following was submitted, "I read something about being able to do cord transplants on adults weighing up to 220. Is this true? My husband had an initial marrow donor search done and no match was found. The final results and international search still have to be completed, but a cord transplant was mentioned to us. Does my husband weigh too much?"
The information you received indicating that cord blood transplants can be done for patients weighing 220 pounds (or 245 pounds) is true. The problem of cell dose has largely been resolved by using two cord blood products. The transplant center at the University of Minnesota has the largest experience with double cord blood transplants, but many other transplant centers use this technique as well and the results have been very good.
If your husband needs a transplant and an adult very well matched donor is not found quickly, a search for cord blood units should be undertaken. Even better -- many transplant physicians now do a simultaneous search for adult donors and cord blood units. Information about the availability of both adult donors and cord blood donors can be obtained from the National Marrow donor Program (NMDP) simultaneously. If your husband has a malignant disorder, the search for an appropriate donor should be undertaken urgently and in this case a cord blood product is often preferred because it takes much longer to obtain a unit from an adult registry. A common mistake is to search for an adult well matched donor month after month after month while the patient's disease relapses or progresses. If a well matched donor is not found quickly, it is very unlikely that one will ever be found, and a transplant should not be delayed while a search for an adult donor is continued.
Recent publications in medical journals indicate that cord blood transplants are now about as effective and marrow or peripheral blood transplants.