Umbilical cord blood, usually discarded at birth, can save the lives of children with genetic diseases or leukemia, two researchers say.
"It seemed crazy that this potentially life-saving source of cells was just being thrown away," says Hal Broxmeyer, professor of immunology and microbiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.
Blood cord transplants are easier, cheaper and more likely to work than bone marrow transplants, Broxmeyer says. Marrow donors must be "put under" while a surgeon probes bone about 200 times to harvest enough marrow for a transplant, he says. The cost runs from $15,000 to $20,000, compared to a few hundred dollars to extract cord blood.
The blood, which is recovered right after delivery without harm to the mother or infant, then can be frozen indefinitely, he says. In his own studies, Broxmeyer has found that about 90 percent of cord blood cells survive freezing for up to seven years.
Another advantage is that, unlike bone marrow, cord blood cells are more likely to be useful when donors and recipients are unrelated, Broxmeyer says.
More than 30 cord blood transplants, including a few to unrelated recipients, have been done in recent months, Broxmeyer says. Such transplants are useful in treating a variety of genetic diseases and cancers, Broxmeyer says, "anything that requires a replenishment of the blood supply."
About five years ago, Broxmeyer and a colleague, Dr. William Boyse, of the University of Arizona, discovered that cord blood is a rich source of "stem cells," the same blood-forming cells found in bone marrow but virtually nowhere else in the adult body, Broxmeyer says.
Three cord blood banks are being established-in New York City, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis-as a private enterprise launched by Broxmeyer and Boyse.