title: Ten-year quality control of a semiautomated procedure of cord blood unit volume reduction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Volume reduction of cord blood units decreases the cost of cryogenic storage. This study reports the analysis of a 10-year quality control program of a semiautomated cord blood volume reduction procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cord blood was collected in a plastic bag containing 29 mL citrate-phosphate-dextrose, centrifuged at 2124 x g for 12 minutes, and processed with a semiautomated device. The procedure was aimed at removing most red blood cells and plasma and concentrating hematopoietic progenitors in the buffy coat (BC), thus reducing the unit volume and saving cryogenic space. Finally, the BC was cryopreserved with an equal volume of 20 percent dimethyl sulfoxide. Total nucleated cells (TNCs) were counted before and after processing in the 4311 units banked from 1998 through 2007, whereas CD34+ cells and colony-forming units-granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) were counted in 420 random units from 2001 through 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean postvolume reduction annual recoveries of TNCs, CD34+ cells, and CFU-GM ranged from 82.8 +/- 12.3 (standard deviation) to 91.4 +/- 6.4 percent, from 87.8 +/- 14.1 to 95.2 +/- 23.8 percent, and from 101.5 +/- 51.4 to 117.8 +/- 59.5 percent, respectively. Very strong correlations were found (r > 0.87) between postprocessing versus preprocessing TNCs, CD34+ cells, and CFU-GM; a moderate correlation between initial TNC count and unit's volume (r = 0.51); and no correlation between TNC percentage of recovery in the BC and initial unit's volume. The latter data indicate that most TNCs concentrate in the BC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The semiautomated procedure of cord blood unit volume reduction used in this study provides high and stable cellular recoveries during several years of routine cord blood banking.
authors.affiliation: Center of Transfusion Medicine, Cellular Therapy and Cryobiology, IRCCS Fondazione Ospedale Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milan, Italy. llecchi@policlinico.mi.it
authors.forename: Lucilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lecchi
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perego
authors.forename: Filomena
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garcea
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ratti
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brasca
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dotti
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cimoni
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pezzali
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Celeste
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giovanelli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Butti
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Fazio
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lopa
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rebulla
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D005312:Fetal Blood; D006801:Humans; D011786:Quality Control; D013997:Time Factors