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Optimization of microbial screening for cord blood.
Pamela Clark1, Annette Trickett, Mel Chimenti
1Sydney Cord Blood Bank, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Transfusion
|July 30, 2013
Summary
Optimal microbial screening for cord blood (CB) involves testing discard fractions and final product. Pediatric bottles are suboptimal for detecting contamination, risking the distribution of unsafe CB for transplantation.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Microbiology
- Transplantation Science
Background:
- Cord blood (CB) collection and processing carry a high risk of microbial contamination.
- Current microbial screening methods for CB may lack sensitivity due to small sample volumes and pediatric bottle limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate and identify the optimal microbial screening method for cord blood units (CBUs).
Main Methods:
- Cord blood samples were spiked with known concentrations of organisms (1 or 10 colony-forming units/mL).
- Screening was performed using automated culture systems (BacT/ALERT and BACTEC) with various bottle types (adult/pediatric), sample types (plasma discard, RBC discard, final product), and volumes.
Main Results:
- Overall contamination detection rate was 81% in spiked CBUs.
- Pediatric bottles showed lower detection rates, especially for obligate anaerobes (15%).
- A combined fraction method (plasma and RBC discard) demonstrated superior detection (71%) compared to plasma alone (27%).
Conclusions:
- The optimal microbial screening method for CB includes analyzing discard fractions (plasma and RBCs) alongside the final product.
- Using pediatric bottles for small final product samples is suboptimal and may compromise the safety of CB for transplantation.
