Perspectives of potential donors on cord blood and cord blood cryopreservation: a survey of highly educated, pregnant Korean women receiving active prenatal care.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to investigate the knowledge of cord blood (CB) and attitudes toward CB banking among high-potential donors (i.e., well-educated pregnant Koreans) because their voluntary donation is indispensable to the success of unrelated CB transplantation.


METHODS
Questionnaires examining perspectives on CB were distributed to and completed by 1001 women attending a maternity education program from April to October 2008; 863 women answered that they had heard of CB. We analyzed the 863 questionnaires to identify the sources of information, the plan for CB, the reasons for decisions, beliefs about the potential uses of CB, and knowledge about current therapeutic uses.


RESULTS
Most subjects received information from promotional materials distributed by CB banks and the media; however, minimal information was obtained from obstetricians. More than 90% of women who planned to donate cited "altruism," and 75.0% of the "private preservation" group indicated that a desire to "safeguard for the future" was the reason for their decision. The probability of autologous CB transplantation (p = 0.001) and current usefulness were significantly overestimated in the private preservation group (p = 0.02). In addition, 56% of subjects underestimated the probability of identifying a matched CB in the public bank, and the overall rate of correct answers about current usefulness was 57.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
A considerable portion of educated pregnant Korean women has more than minimal knowledge of CB, but the levels of knowledge regarding the potency of the public bank and the current usefulness and limitations of CB are generally low; in addition, obstetricians play insignificant roles in disseminating knowledge. Providing accurate and detailed information to pregnant women not only via brochures and the media and/or Internet but also by obstetricians would encourage CB donation.
Shin
Sue
S
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University Boramae Hospital, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Korea.
Yoon
Jong Hyun
JH
Lee
Hye Ryun
HR
Kim
Byoung Jae
BJ
Roh
Eun Youn
EY
D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000193:education*; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000639:trends; D003132:Commerce; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D015925:Cryopreservation; D003657:Decision Making; D004522:Educational Status; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009774:Obstetrics; D010174:Pamphlets; D010819:Physician's Role; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D056910:Republic of Korea; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D020458:Third-Party Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D055815:Young Adult