Ten years of cord blood transplantation: from bench to bedside

Cord blood is an unlimited source of haematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant. Since the first human cord blood transplant, cord blood banks have been established worldwide for collection and cryopreservation of cord blood for allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant. More than 400 000 cord blood units are now available for international exchange. Results of unrelated allogeneic cord blood transplants in malignant and non-malignant diseases, in adults and children, show that, compared to human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-matched unrelated bone marrow transplant, cord blood has several advantages, including prompt availability of the transplant, decrease of graft-versus-host disease and better long-term immune recovery resulting in a similar long term survival. Several studies have shown that the number of cells is the most important factor for engraftment while some degree of HLA mismatches is acceptable. Progress is expected to facilitate engraftment and reduce transplant-related mortality and includes reduced intensity conditioning regimen, intra bone injection of cord blood cells and double cord blood transplants. In addition to haematopoietic stem cells, cord blood and placenta contain a high number of non-haematopoietic stem cells that explains the increasing interest of using cord blood for developing regenerative medicine.