Cord-Blood Engraftment with Ex Vivo Mesenchymal-Cell Coculture

Use of 2 units of cord blood, 1 of which had been cocultured with mesenchymal stem cells, produced more rapid hematopoietic engraftment than 2 units of unmanipulated cord blood. Umbilical-cord blood is an attractive source of hematopoietic support for patients who lack a suitable HLA-matched donor. Despite the advantages offered by cord-blood transplantation, such as the use of a frozen, readily available allograft in patients who are members of minority groups, who often have limited access to adult donors, the clinical usefulness in adults has been restricted by the relatively low number of hematopoietic progenitors in a unit of cord blood. 1 – 4 Delayed or failed engraftment of neutrophils and platelets with cord-blood transplantation can result in an increased risk of transplant-related complications or death and increased health care costs, . . .