Authors' objectives: To provide information to decision makers on the current status of cord blood transplantation.

Authors' recommendations: Cord blood transplantation (CBT) is an alternative to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) that has been used to reconstitute hematopoiesis in various hematological disorders. Most patients treated with CBT have been children. CBT has potential advantages over BMT because of the lower incidence and milder form of graft versus host disease. As a greater degree of HLA mismatch is possible, as compared to BMT, CBT is a potential treatment for many patients whose other management options are limited. Disadvantages of CBT compared with BMT are the slower rates of engraftment, the limit to the absolute cell dose and, possibly, the absolute number of stem cells available for a single transplant. Evidence of the efficacy and safety of CBT is still limited. Published reports have been based upon uncontrolled studies, usually with small numbers of subjects. There are not yet adequate comparative studies on the efficacy and safety of CBT compared to other therapies for specific hematological diseases. If CBT is to become a widely available technology, there will be a need for prompt availability of suitable donors and for large cord blood banks. Costs of cord blood banks and their level of use will require careful consideration. A number of ethical and legal issues, related, for example, to detection of disease, consent for donation and anonymity of the donor, require further discussion. In the context of the Alberta health care system, CBT should be regarded as a promising, evolving technology for treatment of some types of pediatric patients

Authors' methods: Systematic review

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 1998

URL for published report: http://www.ihe.ca/advanced-search/cord-blood-transplantation

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Canada

Organisation Name: Institute of Health Economics

Contact Address: 1200, 10405 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5J 3N4. Tel: +1 780 448 4881; Fax: +1 780 448 0018;

Contact Name: djuzwishin@ihe.ca

Contact Email: djuzwishin@ihe.ca

Copyright: <p>Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research</p>