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Use Of Umbilical Cord Blood To Fight Diseases Is On the Rise

JULIE DAVIDOW

August 15, 2006 - Sheila Dougherty and her daughter Isabella enjoy time together. Isabella is a healthy 5-month-old now, and her mom wants to help her stay that way. She is saving Isabella's umbilical-cord blood for possible use later for treatment of certain diseases.

Sheila Dougherty and her daughter Isabella enjoy time together. Isabella is a healthy 5-month-old now, and her mom wants to help her stay that way. She is saving Isabella's umbilical-cord blood for possible use later for treatment of certain diseases.

When Sandi Payne's daughter was born seven years ago, umbilical cord-blood donations were fairly new.

So new, in fact, that her doctor had to read the directions for collecting the blood filled with potentially life-saving cells in the delivery room at Swedish Medical Center.

Three-and-a-half years later, during her son's birth, the hospital and the doctor had the procedure down cold.

"It was all very seamless," said Payne.

Last month, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have increased federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, but harvesting stem cells from cord blood sidesteps that controversy.

When transplanted, the so-called parent cells morph into blood cells, replacing the diseased blood.

While cord-blood stem cells may not be as versatile as those taken from human embryos, transplants for diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and other blood disorders are increasing.

The Puget Sound Blood Bank launched its cord-blood program in 1998 at Swedish Medical Center, in part with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve access to blood products for minorities.

The program has expanded to four hospitals: Overlake, Evergreen, Stevens and the University of Washington Medical Center. It has 5,000 cord blood units in cold storage, but wants more. At the proper temperature -- minus 180 degrees Celsius or lower -- the units can be stored for an infinite amount of time.

"We get several donations per day, but not everything qualifies for use in a transplant," said Doug Mora, director of the Cord Blood Program. "We want to focus our resources on the cord-blood units most likely to be selected." He said those include the samples with the largest volume, highest number of cells and the hardiest cells.

Dr. Thomas Price, medical director of the Puget Sound Blood Center, said the popularity of cord-blood transplants has increased in the past several years due to promising research into its uses as an alternative to bone marrow.

Cells from cord blood are less mature than those drawn from bone marrow, making them easier to match and less likely to be rejected by the recipient's body.

As a result, federal funding for banks and additional research has been increased, Price said.

Last year, about 10 percent of the stem-cell transplants from unrelated donors came from cord blood.

"Five years ago it was basically nothing," said Price.

Cords, however, contain relatively few cells to use for transplant.

"It's still probably true that if you have a perfectly matched adult donor, you'd probably prefer it to a cord," said Price.

The Puget Sound program has sent 30 units for transplants around the world, including Europe and South America. Most of the recipients were children with lymphoma or other blood disorders, according to Mora.

Collecting the blood is quick and does not interfere with the delivery room experience, said Payne. The cord blood is extracted after the cord is cut, and the procedure is canceled if there are any complications with the birth.

Unlike parents who opt to store their child's cord blood in private banks, where they pay to keep the blood for their family's use, Payne wanted to make a donation.

"The way I look at it, (private banks) are an option for people who have money," said Payne.

Two cancer scares in her family also motivated her, said Payne.

Before her children were born, Payne's brother was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and her father with non-Hodgkin's.

"It's really important for me to be part of research, to be part of the solution," said Payne. "I think it's just really a no-brainer to give this hope, this opportunity for another child to be saved."

WHAT IS CORD BLOOD?
-- Cord blood is the blood drawn from the umbilical cord and placenta. About two cups of blood are collected from each birth.

-- This blood is rich in blood-forming cells. The donated cord blood is tested, frozen and stored at a cord blood bank for future use.

-- The first cord-blood transplant was performed in 1988.

-- The National Marrow Donor Program has a registry of 40,000 units of cord blood.

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