Directed Sibling Cord Blood Banking for Transplantation: The Ten Year Experience in the National Blood Service in England

¹ Stem Cells and Immunotherapies, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
² NHS Cord Blood Bank, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
³ Bristol Institute of Transfusion Sciences, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
⁴ Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
⁵ Tissue Services, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
⁶ Division of Diagnostics, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom
⁷ Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom; University College London, UK
⁸ Stem Cells and Immunotherapies, Development and Research, National Blood Service, NHS Blood and Transplant, United Kingdom; Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jon.smythe{at}nbs.nhs.uk.

	Abstract

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an important source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) for transplantation. Although UCB is often collected from unrelated donors, directed UCB (DCB) from sibling donors also provides an important source of UCB for transplantation. This paper summarises the experience in collection, testing, storage and transplantation of DCB units by the National Blood Service for England and North Wales over ten years. Eligibility for collection was based on an existing sibling suffering from a disease that may be treated by stem cell transplantation or a family history that could result in the birth of a sibling with a disease that could be treated by stem cell transplantation. Collections were made on the provision that the sibling's clinician was willing to support financially the collection and to take responsibility for medical review of the mother and potential recipient. Given the high investment in UCB banking and the introduction of new regulations and mandatory licensing under the European Union Tissues and Cells Directive and those proposed in the US, this report details the procedures that we have used for DCB donations, the outcome data where donations have been used for transplantation and provides some timely recommendations for best practice.

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