Reducing ethnic disparity in access to high‐quality HLA‐matched cord blood units for transplantation: analysis of the Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank inventory

Abstract

BACKGROUND Launched in 2013, Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank (CBS' CBB) has built a high‐quality, ethnically diverse cord blood repository that aims to reduce ethnic disparity in accessing suitable units for transplantation. METHODS AND RESULTS As of December 2016, 2000 units have been banked. The self‐reported maternal ethnicity was 58% non‐Caucasian. Overall, 26% of units were classified as multi‐ethnicity with Caucasian (84%) most frequently observed in combination with Asian, First Nations (predominant indigenous peoples in Canada south of the Arctic Circle), or African ethnicity. Utilization scores that incorporate total nucleated and CD34+ cell counts in the CBS' CBB were associated with greater likelihood of utilization compared with the international inventory of units (p < 0.05). The distribution of utilization scores was similar for Caucasians compared with non‐Caucasians (p < 0.05). Using HLA genotypes of cord blood units and their mothers, we determined probable ethnic assignments for each haplotype using HaploStats (National Marrow Donor Program). Significant increases in HLA‐match likelihoods are predicted for all ethnicities as the inventory grows to its target of 10,000 units and the gap in HLA‐match likelihoods for Caucasian and non‐Caucasian patients progressively declines. CONCLUSIONS The CBS' CBB inventory is predicted to have high HLA‐matching likelihoods across a broad spectrum of ethnic groups, improving access to high‐quality stem cell products for all patients.

Demand and usage of unrelated donor products for allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry analysis

“…Interest and usage of CBUs from the CBS bank increased substantially, likely reflecting interest in a product that was collected before the pandemic and which is already stored and ready for distribution without the need for a personal courier. Transplant centres may have preferred to organize transplants using cord blood given the increased certainties associated with delivery and scheduling and the predictable high quality of the units [ 16 ]. A 7% increase in the usage of CBUs was reported by one European network of banks while banking efforts were stalled during the early stages of the pandemic [ 10 ].…”

Akraba Dişi Kök Hücre Veri̇ci̇si̇ Araştirilmasinda Kemi̇k İli̇ği̇ Ve Kordon Kani Bankaciliğinin Önemi̇

“…Pek çok hasta için yüksek kaliteli kök hücre ürünlerine erişimi iyileştiren, geniş bir etnik grup yelpazesinde yüksek HLA uyum olasılıkları sunabilmektedir. Üstelik kolaylıkla ulaşılabiliyor olması da ayrı bir avantajdır (30).…”

Portrayal of Umbilical Cord Blood Research in the North American Popular Press: Promise or Hype?

“…Public cord blood banking improves access to donor cells for conventional hematopoietic cell transplantation for the treatment of leukemia and other blood-related disorders [11] although the significant inventory of publicly banked units provides a potential resource to support cord-blood based regenerative therapy. Legal and regulatory implications related to the use of cord blood cells for a purpose that is unrelated to their normal function present some significant challenges.…”