Q & A, 4/13

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, Subpart A, Section 493.5 and 493.15. wwwn.cdc.gov/clia/regs/subpart_a.aspx#493.5. Accessed Aug. 27, 2012.
2. COLA. Laboratory Accreditation. www.cola.org. Accessed Aug. 27, 2012.

Deborah A. Perry, MD
Department of Pathology
Methodist Hospital and
Children’s Hospital and Medical Center
Omaha, Neb.

Chair, CAP Point-of-Care Testing Committee

 

Tim Hamill, MD
Department of Laboratory Medicine
University of California San Francisco

Vice Chair, CAP Point-of-Care Testing Committee

[pulledquote]Could you comment on the benefits of adding a pediatric cord blood bank capturing unit to the labor and delivery unit of a hospital in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands?[/pulledquote]

A. The addition of a new cord blood collection facility to a maternity hospital serving an ethnically distinct population and associated with an experienced public cord blood bank will benefit the community by making available additional clinical-grade cord blood units (CBUs) for matching and transplantation. In particular, the availability of CBUs from donors of ethnic minority populations will increase the access of members of those populations to hematopoietic transplantation. The Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, population includes (according to the 2000 census) the following ethnic groups: black 76.2 percent, white 13.1 percent, Asian 1.1 percent, mixed 3.5 percent, and other 6.1 percent, and will contribute to current national and international efforts to obtain ethnically balanced access of patients to this therapy.

The mothers and families of donors will benefit from the understanding that they have made a contribution to saving the life of another human being, a fact that will accompany the donors throughout life. The availability of this service will bring to the whole community a sense of participation in what is a truly international effort to help others.

Reference

1. Barker JN, Byam CE, Kernan NA, et al. Availability of cord blood extends allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant access to racial and ethnic minorities. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2010;16(11):1541–1548.

Pablo Rubinstein, MD
Program Director
National Cord Blood Program
New York, NY