Maternal and neonatal predictors and quality of umbilical cord blood units

Abstract

Maternal and neonatal predictors and quality of umbilical cord blood units B. Bielec-Berek 1 , Ż. Jastrzębska-Stojko 2 , A. Drosdzol-Cop 1,3 , C. Jendyk 3 , D. Boruczkowski 4 , T. Ołdak 4 , A. Nowak-Brzezińska 5 , R. Stojko 1,3 1Chair of Woman's Health, School of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice 2Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, UCK prof. K. Gibińskiego, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Boni Fratres Catoviensis Hospital, Katowice 4Polish Stem Cells Bank, Warsaw 5Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Material Science, Silesian University, Sosnowiec (Poland) Summary Umbilical cord blood (UcB) is a rich source of stem cells which are used in the treatment of approximately different 80 disease units. Stem cells are stored in both state and private banks and it is crucial that optimal conditions for obtaining UCB are developed to ensure the highest viability of the preserved stem cells. The aim of the paper is to determine the correlation between the length of pregnancy, the number of deliveries, the newborn’s birth weight, and selected properties of UCB stem cells. The study covers 50 pregnant females in whom either spontaneous labor or elective caesarean section were performed. UCB was collected immediately upon birth and the samples were analyzed in a Polish stem cell bank in Warsaw. The authors found that as the length of the pregnancy increases, so does the concentration of nucleated cells in UCB. However, tested parameters of UCB were not related to the number of deliveries or newborn’s birth weight. Key words: Stem cell; Umbilical cord blood; CD 34+ cells; Cord blood banking; Gestational age; Parity; Birth weight.