Cord Blood Battling Leukemia

Those who receive cord blood as a leukemia treatment appear to experience better results than those who receive more traditional bone marrow transplants.

Dr. John E. Wagner of the University of Minnesota believes that the recently observed results catapult umbilical cord blood to "first line treatment" status according to a report in The Ledger of Florida.

The article also states:

"Indeed, five-year survival was identical for recipients of perfectly matched bone marrow and cord blood with two mismatches, Wagner says. That matching flexibility could expand the field considerably, because right now bone marrow matches cannot be found for half of all leukemia patients who need transplants, he says. "With cord blood you can find a match for most patients, where with marrow you cannot," Wagner says. "The take-home message is that when cord blood is so promising, it should have an impact on public policy."

The Ledger piece notes that a national cord blood bank may be on the horizon due to positive findings like these and concludes with expert opinion that against private blood banking.

The full article appears here.