title: Sibling donor cord blood transplantation for thalassemia major: Experience of the Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program.
abstract: The Sibling Donor Cord Blood (SDCB) Program was initiated in 1998 as a resource to collect, characterize, and release cord blood units (CBUs) from families affected by malignant and nonmalignant disorders for transplantation. Families in the United States were recruited by telephone after referrals by community and academic physicians. Collection kits were mailed to prospective participants and family members were instructed about CBU procurement from community hospitals and shipping to a central laboratory. Data about the infant's delivery and CBU harvest, CBU processing, prethaw characteristics, sterility, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing were collected. Standard outcome data were collected after CBU release for transplantation. Descriptive analyses of CBU collections, processing, release, and transplantation outcomes were performed. Currently, 1617 CBU collections have been processed from families with thalassemia (6%), sickle cell disease (28%), malignant disorders (49%), and other rare hematological disorders (17%). Thirty-two of 96 donor-recipient pairs with thalassemia major were HLA identical and 14 have received cord blood transplantation, either alone or in combination with bone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cells (N = 4) from the same donor. Eleven of the 14 survive free of thalassemia after transplantation. These preliminary results confirm the feasibility and utility of remote-site sibling donor cord blood collection and subsequent transplantation for hematological disorders, with a very high rate of usage from a cord blood bank dedicated to performing these unique collections. It was concluded that cord blood transplantation from sibling donors represents a suitable alternative to bone marrow transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland, 747 52nd St., Oakland, CA 94609, USA. mwalters@mail.cho.org
authors.forename: Mark C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Walters
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quirolo
authors.forename: Elizabeth T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Trachtenberg
authors.forename: Sandie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Joi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morton-Wiley
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quirolo
authors.forename: Shanda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lubin
mesh_terms: D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000601:surgery; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002648:Child; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015993:Life Tables; D019520:Living Donors; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D036102:Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D035781:Siblings; D016019:Survival Analysis; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000601:surgery*