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When neither an HLA-matched family member or a suitable matched-unrelated donor is available for a patient in need of a hematopoietic cell transplant, the question of cord blood transplantation arises. Recent advances in the field make this option increasingly attractive; among the alternative options is to not do a transplant even for patients with bona fide indications. (One must also keep in mind that for some patients, particularly in the pediatric age group, many transplant physicians consider cord bloods to be the hematopoietic stem cell source of choice.)
There are a number of issues regarding the selection of the optimal unit for transplantation that are different for cord blood units vs. PBSC or BMT units, including HLA-matching and prioritization of HLA-match vs. cell dose. Recent data regarding these and other points are categorized into the following topics for ease of review. Click on any of the following topics, including any of the recent and authoritative reviews to evaluate current data. You may also search for any topic and/or author by clicking on the SEARCH link in the navigation menu to access our comprehensive site search feature. Click HERE for a Summary of Current Facts About Cord Blood.
Please note that a link to an online abstract or full text version of each article is provided, if publicly available. Individuals with subscriptions to the journal may have online access to full text articles with a member sign-in on the journal's website. ASH members have online access to all full text articles published in Blood (initial sign-in required).
CordBloodForum.org would appreciate comments and questions.