If you, or a loved one is in need of a bone marrow or cord blood transplant, but immediate family cannot provide a good match, doctors have the option of searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry for an allogeneic transplant (donation outside family)
Research shows that the quality of the stem cells taken from the bone marrow is not as high as that of the umbilical cord blood. Patients who have received a bone marrow transplant are more likely to reject the new addition, which could lead to life threatening situations.
It may take months for the medical team to find a donor with a matching blood composition. With the patients cord blood available, the treatment is not delayed beyond a few days. In case the patients cord blood is not available, public cord blood banks have a vast resource of stem cells, which were donated by new parents. The cord blood banking system is highly computerized and one can search for the matching composition very quickly.
Great promise has been shown in the treatment of Krabbe Disease and other rare lysomal storage diseases through the transplantation of cord blood stem cells. Krabbe disease occurs in infants, and if left untreated is usually fatal within 2 years. Researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have made ground breaking progress in the treatment of this disease. Their research shows that newborns who receive umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants while they are still asymptomatic have a much higher chance of survival than children who have already shown symptoms. The key is to catch the disease early enough to prevent the loss of critical brain function.
Umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant has been proven to treat Lymphoproliferative disease. This illness is a rare condition that affects the immune system and makes the patient unable to fight off common germs. Brothers Blayke and Garrett of Los Angeles, California were born with this life threatening disease. Thanks to a cord blood transplant, both boys are now living normal, healthy lives.
Thalassaemia is a blood disease in which the body produces deformed red blood cells. Frequent blood transfusions are necessary and previously the only cure was a bone marrow transplant. On 3 July 2001, a cord blood stem cell transplant was carried out on a 5-year old Malaysian Chinese boy with Thalassaemia Major. He is now able to produce normal red blood cells and is cured of Thalassaemia Major. Besides bone marrow transplant from a sibling, cord blood transplant is now a viable treatment for Thalassaemia.
Understanding the cord blood transplant process, the factors involved, and the immediate need of the patient are all important for the patient and their family. However, a family can rest assured that doctors, and those at the NMDP are fervently seeking the best possible matches, so that care of the patient can be focused on during this process.
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