Shipping of Cord Blood | Bedomaich Chayi

Deep Freezing

To maintain the maximum quality of cell blood stem cells, public cord blood banks store them in special freezers that utilize liquid nitrogen of minus 196 degrees Celsius. At that temperature, the cord blood can be stored for at least twenty years with no significant harm to its stem cells qualities.

Any temperature rise above minus 150 degrees Celsius causes immediate damage and cell destruction.
 

Storage and Shipping of Cord Blood

When a  bone marrow and cord blood transplant center needs a cord blood unit, it is sent in a special double walled metal canister designed to ensure secure delivery of the unit at the requisite low temperature.

Between the walls is a special material that absorbs the liquid nitrogen and releases it into the container as gas to maintain the requisite temperature. This avoids the use of liquid nitrogen, which could endanger the environment if malfunction or damage caused it to leak from the container.
 

Monitoring the Cord Blood

The shipping containers are designed to maintain a low temperature of at least minus 190 degrees for a minimum of 14 days. This allows cord blood to be flown safely to distant destinations.

The container has a special device that constantly monitors and records the temperature in the container from the time the cord blood is placed inside until it is removed at the transplant center. 
 

Tests

Transplant clinics usually locate suitable cord blood units through an international data base. The most important criteria is that the cord blood's Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) must match those of the transplant recipient.

To ensure proper matching, the unit is retested at the transplant center with a second test that is more accurate and inclusive than the test made originally when the unit was put into storage. All this is to ensure that the cord blood cells engraft with minimal side effects and medical mishaps. The second check also measures the number of the unit's blood cells and cord blood cells, and ensures that the cord blood is still of sufficient quality for the transplant after its removal from deep freeze.

The blood bank attaches a report to the unit that includes detailed information including to what degree the unit matches the patient and the number of cells it contains.

It is important to note that public cord blood banks include no identifying details in its attached forms and, of course, no personal details or data of the mother who donated the cord blood. Cord blood units are sent anonymously with no indication of who donated them.
 

Preparation for the Transplant

As mentioned before, cord blood is shipped to transplant centers deep-frozen in a special container. At the center, it is retested and stored in a liquid nitrogen freezer until it is thawed for transplant. The transplant patient undergoes treatments that destroy his bone marrow cells in order to allow the engrafting of new cells from the donor. This treatment usually lasts for about ten days and only begins after the cord blood unit has been safely received by the transplant center.
 

Cord Blood Transplantation

Doctors usually transplant the cord blood by transfusing it into a vein of the patient. This is generally done after the cord blood was briefly processed by washing away or diluting the preservative that preserved the cells during freezing. After the transplant, the patient is kept in isolation for a certain time to prevent exposure to infection until the healthy cells from the donated cord blood have engrafted. The hospital performs various tests to monitor the engraftment of the new cells; a rising blood count is a classic sign of successful engraftment.
 

Transplantation of Two Cord Blood Units

Transplantation of two cord blood units simultaneously is usually reserved for adult patients and\or patients weighing over 20 to 30 kilograms. It is interesting to note that only one of the units is actually finally engrafted and integrated into the blood system. Nonetheless, two units are transplanted due to the small amount of cells in one unit, and because transplanting two units makes the engraftment of the donors' cells faster and safer. Various studies of recent years have shown yet another advantage. The percentage of relapses of the disease after a transplant (one of the most significant causes of disease and death after a transplant) is significantly lower when two units are used.
 

To read more about the transplant of two cord blood units see:
ecancermedicalscience, hemonctoday.