Update on umbilical cord blood transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant is a curative procedure for many patients with leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplasia, myeloproliferative neoplasms, and genetic disorders. Umbilical cord blood transplantation is a graft source for patients who do not have a matched donor in their family or in the unrelated registry. It is particularly difficult for Black, Hispanic, and White patients of non-Western European background to find fully matched adult volunteer donors. An estimated 700,000 umbilical cord blood units have been donated for public use, and over 40,000 umbilical cord blood transplantations have been performed. Over 25,000 patients have been cured with this approach.