title: Impact of cord blood banking technologies on clinical outcome: a Eurocord/Cord Blood Committee (CTIWP), European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and NetCord retrospective analysis.
abstract: Techniques for banking cord blood units (CBUs) as source for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have been developed over the past 20 years, aimed to improve laboratory efficiency without altering the biologic properties of the graft. A large-scale, registry-based assessment of the impact of the banking variables on the clinical outcome is currently missing.
  
  
  
  A total of 677 single cord blood transplants (CBTs) carried out for acute leukemia in complete remission in centers affiliated with the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation were selected. An extensive set of data concerning CBU banking were collected and correlations with clinical outcome were assessed. Clinical endpoints were transplant-related mortality, engraftment, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
  
  
  
  The median time between collection and CBT was 4.1 years (range, 0.2-16.3 years). Volume reduction (VR) of CBUs before freezing was performed in 59.2% of available reports; in half of these the frozen volume was less than 30 mL. Cumulative incidences of neutrophil engraftment on Day 60, 100-day acute GVHD (II-IV), and 4-year chronic GVHD were 87, 29, and 21 ± 2%. The cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) at 100 days and 4-year NRM were, respectively, 16 ± 2 and 30 ± 2%. Neither the variables related to banking procedures nor the interval between collection and CBT influenced the clinical outcome.
  
  
  
  These findings indicate a satisfactory validation of the techniques associated with CBU VR across the banks. Cell viability assessment varied among the banks, suggesting that efforts to improve the standardization of CBU quality controls are needed.
authors.affiliation: Careggi University Hospital, Firenze, Italy.|Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saccardi
authors.affiliation: Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tucunduva
authors.affiliation: Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.|Hospital Saint Antoine, Service d'Hématologie et Thérapie Cellulaire, AP-HP, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S 938, CEREST-TC EBMT, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
authors.affiliation: Agence de la Biomedicine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ionescu
authors.affiliation: Dusseldorf Cord Blood Bank, University of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Gesine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koegler
authors.affiliation: Barcelona Cord Blood Bank, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Querol
authors.affiliation: Centro Nazionale Sangue, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grazzini
authors.affiliation: Milano Cord Blood Bank, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lecchi
authors.affiliation: Centro Nazionale Trapianti, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nanni Costa
authors.affiliation: NHS-Cord Blood Bank, NHSBT, and University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Navarrete
authors.affiliation: Besançon Cord Blood Bank of the Etablissement Français du Sang, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pouthiers
authors.affiliation: Paris Cord Blood Bank, Hôpital Saint Louis, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Larghero
authors.affiliation: St Louis Cord Blood Bank & Cellular Therapy Laboratory, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.affiliation: Sydney Cord Blood Bank, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Taryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Henrique
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.affiliation: Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kenzey
authors.affiliation: Hospital Saint Antoine, Service d'Hématologie et Thérapie Cellulaire, AP-HP, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S 938, CEREST-TC EBMT, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labopin
authors.affiliation: NetCord Foundation and Liege Cord Blood Bank, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baudoux
authors.affiliation: Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.|Churchill Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Vanderson
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Eurocord, Hospital Saint Louis, AP-HP, and IUH University Paris VII, Paris, France.|Monacord, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco.
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gluckman
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000379:methods*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000628:therapy; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome