Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Cord Blood Stem Cells

Cord blood collection before and after placental delivery: levels of nucleated cells, haematopoietic progenitor cells, leukocyte subpopulations and macroscopic clots

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 27, pages 133–138 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The number of nucleated cells infused into the recipient of a cord blood (CB) transplant has emerged as the most important factor affecting the probability and speed of engraftment. At present, there is no international consensus on the procedure of CB collection in the maternity ward. In order to maximise the yield of viable cells in a CB unit, we aimed to investigate the efficiency of CB collection, with respect to the time of delivery of the placenta. We analysed stem and progenitor cells in terms of CD34+ cell content and colony-forming activities, lymphocyte subpopulations and the presence of macroscopic clots in 93 paired CB samples, collected before and after the delivery of the placenta. Our results demonstrated that the median concentrations of nucleated cells and total colony-forming unit (CFU) were significantly lower in CB collected after placenta delivery by 9.5% (P < 0.001) and 11.6% (P = 0.015), respectively, when compared to their counterparts collected before placental delivery. A reduction of granulocytes (P < 0.001), monocytes (P < 0.001) and CD19+ B lymphocytes (P = 0.031) was observed, with no significant change in the proportion of T cell subsets (CD4+, CD8+ cells) or activated T cells (CD25+, CD45RO+ cells) in samples collected after placenta delivery. The incidence of macroscopic clots was also higher in these samples (31% vs 1%, P < 0.001). The reduction of stem and progenitor cells correlated significantly with that of major cell populations, indicating a general cell loss, possibly due to clotting activities developed with time. Our study has documented strong evidence for recommending the collection of CB before the delivery of the placenta. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 27, 133–138.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gluckman E, Broxmeyer HA, Auerbach AD et al. Hematopoietic reconstitution in a patient with Fanconi's anemia by means of umbilical-cord blood from an HLA-identical sibling New Engl J Med 1989 321: 1174–1178

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cairo MS, Wagner JE . Placental and/or umbilical cord blood: an alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation Blood 1997 90: 4665–4678

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Lim F, Beckhoven J, Brand A et al. The number of nucleated cells reflects the hematopoietic content of umbilical cord blood for transplantation Bone Marrow Transplant 1999 24: 965–970

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Rubinstein P, Carrier C, Scaradavou A et al. Outcomes among 562 recipients of placental-blood transplants from unrelated donors (see comments) New Engl J Med 1998 339: 1565–1577

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Gluckman E, Rocha V, Boyer-Chammard A et al. Outcome of cord-blood transplantation from related and unrelated donors. Eurocord Transplant Group and the European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group New Engl J Med 1997 337: 373–381

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Broxmeyer HE, Kurtzberg J, Gluckman E et al. Umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem and repopulating cells in human clinical transplantation Blood Cells 1991 17: 313–329

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Turner CW, Luzins J, Hutcheson C . A modified harvest technique for cord blood hematopoietic stem cells Bone Marrow Transplant 1992 10: 89–91

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Bertolini F, Lazzari L, Lauri E et al. Comparative study of different procedures for the collection and banking of umbilical cord blood J Hematother 1995 4: 29–36

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Elchalal U, Fasouliotis SJ, Shtockheim D et al. Postpartum umbilical cord blood collection for transplantation: a comparison of three methods Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000 182: 227–232

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ballin A, Arbel E, Kenet G et al. Autologous umbilical cord blood transfusion (see comments) Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 1995 73: F181–F183

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Navarrete C, Warwick R, Armitage S et al. The London Cord Blood Bank Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: (Suppl. 1) S6–S7

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Dal Cortivo L, Marolleau JP, Gluckman E et al. The Paris Cord Blood Bank Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: (Suppl. 1) S11

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Querol S, Gabarro M, Amat L et al. The placental blood program of the Barcelona Cord Blood Bank Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: (Suppl. 1) S3–S5

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Pojda Z, Machaj E, Debski R et al. Organization of the cord blood bank in Warsaw, Poland: current status and future prospects Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: (Suppl. 1) S13

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Jacobs HC, Falkenburg JH . Umbilical cord blood banking in The Netherlands Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: (Suppl. 1) S8–S10

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Sutherland DR, Anderson L, Keeney M et al. The ISHAGE guidelines for CD34+ cell determination by flow cytometry. International Society of Hematotherapy and Graft Engineering J Hematother 1996 5: 213–226

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Broxmeyer HE . Questions to be answered regarding umbilical cord blood hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and their use in transplantation (see comments) Transfusion 1995 35: 694–702

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Gluckman E, Rocha V, Chastang C . Cord blood banking and transplant in Europe. Eurocord Vox Sang 1998 74: (Suppl. 2) 95–101

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Surbek DV, Schonfeld B, Tichelli A et al. Optimizing cord blood mononuclear cell yield: a randomized comparison of collection before vs after placenta delivery (letter) Bone Marrow Transplant 1998 22: 311–312

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Lim FT, van Winsen L, Willemze R et al. Influence of delivery on numbers of leukocytes, leukocyte subpopulations, and hematopoietic progenitor cells in human umbilical cord blood Blood Cells 1994 20: 547–558

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Anderson S, Fangman J, Wager G, Uden D . Retrieval of placental blood from the umbilical vein to determine volume, sterility, and presence of clot formation Am J Dis Child 1992 146: 36–39

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the nurses at the Department of Obstetrical and Gynecology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong for helping with the collection of CB. This work was financially supported by the Children Cancer Fund and the Industrial Support Fund, Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The antibodies were partially sponsored by Becton Dickinson Ltd.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    A Wong, PMP Yuen & K Li

  2. Centre for Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Research, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    ALM Yu

  3. Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    WC Tsoi

Authors
  1. A Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. PMP Yuen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. ALM Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. WC Tsoi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wong, A., Yuen, P., Li, K. et al. Cord blood collection before and after placental delivery: levels of nucleated cells, haematopoietic progenitor cells, leukocyte subpopulations and macroscopic clots. Bone Marrow Transplant 27, 133–138 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702757

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1702757

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links