Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the difference in cord blood donation and bone marrow donation? Retrieval of human cord blood is non-invasive and painless to both the mother and child. Bone marrow retrieval is invasive and can be very painful, causing a shortage of donors. Acquiring stem cells from bone marrow is a significantly more extensive procedure and can be very costly. Cord blood is much easier to match to the recipient because it is more readily available and a less than perfect match is acceptable because cord blood is more pure in terms of H.L.A. matching. The National Marrow Donor Program estimates that the current probability for a bone marrow match can be as high as one in a million for Caucasians. Since 90% of the volunteers listed in the program at the National Marrow Donor Program are Caucasians probabilities are lower for non-Caucasians. This gives special emphasis to the minority donations. One of the most common and life threatening side effects of a stem cell transplant is Graft versus Host Disease (G.V.H.D.). G.V.H.D. is the result of lymphocytes present in all grafts (whether bone marrow or cord blood) attacking the recipient. It is estimated that serious G.V.H.D. occurs in 60% of all unrelated bone marrow transplants. Cord blood transplants have been notable in the lack of serious G.V.H.D. in both the sibling and unrelated transplant setting (approximately 10%). Thus, cord blood transplant patients may have a higher survival rate, a higher quality of life, and less frequent rehospitalization due to transplant complications.
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