Feasibility of Collecting Umbilical Cord Blood in Jordan and the Effect of Maternal and Neonatal Factors on Hematopoietic Stem Cell Content

BACKGROUND Cord blood transplant is an accepted treatment for many malignant and non-malignant diseases. We sought to determine the feasibility of collecting cord blood in Jordan and the effect of maternal and fetal factors on the quality of the cord blood units. METHODS A total of 124 cord blood units were collected, and 75 (60%) cord blood units were included in this analysis. Cord blood volume, total nucleated cell (TNC) count, cell viability and CD34(+) content were measured, and clonogenic assay was performed. RESULTS The mean volume of the collected units was 68.9 ml (range 40-115) with mean nucleated cell count of 6.5 x 10(8) (range 1-23.0). Our results showed a positive correlation between the volume of cord blood and TNC count (p=0.008), cell viability (p=0.001), CD34(+) content (p=0.034) and the length of the umbilical cord (p=0.011). In addition, our results showed an inverse relation between the Colony Forming Unit-Granulocyte Macrophage (CFU-GM) concentration and the gestation duration (p=0.038). CONCLUSION We conclude that it is feasible to collect cord blood units in Jordan with excellent TNC and CD34(+) cell content. The volume of cord blood collected was associated with higher TNC count and CD34(+) count. Efforts toward establishing public cord blood banks in our area are warranted.