Does the time between collecting and processing umbilical cord blood samples affect the quality of the sample?

Ricardo Barini,Gregório Lorenzo Acácio,Ubirajara Costa Ferraz,Isabela Nelly Machado

doi:10.1590/s1679-45082011gs1809

Ricardo Barini, Gregório Lorenzo Acácio + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-45082011gs1809

Copy DOI

Abstract

To assess the association between the time from umbilical cord blood collection until processing and the quality of the sample. Umbilical cord blood samples collected during the third stage of labor were placed in temperature-controlled boxes for the transport of biological material and sent to an umbilical cord blood bank, where the number of nucleated cells, viable cells and CD34+ cells were counted, and samples were additionally tested for contamination at the following time intervals: up to 24 hours, up to 48 hours and up to 72 hours following sampling. Data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and compared using McNemar's χ2 test. Significance was defined at p < 0.05. Means and medians of the number of nucleated cells, viable cells and CD34+ cells decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) as a function of the increased time between sampling and analysis, the difference between 24 and 48 hours being less than the difference between 24 and 72 hours. A linear correlation was found between the mean number of viable cells and CD34+ cells at the three moments of analysis. Contamination testing was negative in all samples. The increase in time interval from sampling until analysis negatively affected the number of nucleated cells, viable cells and CD34+ cells but was not associated with specimen contamination. A linear correlation was found between decrease in the number of viable cells and CD34+ cells.

Highlights

Confirmation that adult stem cells (ASC) may transform themselves in other tissues stimulated many scientists to carry out studies in this area, since these cells may represent an alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells[1]
Following the successful treatment of a case of Fanconi anemia with a Umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplant[4], extensive progress was made in research in this field, and umbilical cord blood banks (UCBB) were set up in Europe, Japan, China, United States and Brazil, as well as in other countries
In Brazil, the large geographical area of the country and the ethnical diversity of its population may limit the use of UCB due to the difficulty in identifying a compatible donor, despite knowing that the chance of a Brazilian finding a donor in the country is 30 times greater than the chance of finding a compatible donor abroad, according to a study carried out by the National Registry of Bone Marrow Donors (Registro Nacional de Doadores de Medula Óssea - REDOME)(21)

Summary

Introduction

Confirmation that adult stem cells (ASC) may transform themselves in other tissues stimulated many scientists to carry out studies in this area, since these cells may represent an alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells[1]. Umbilical cord blood (UCB), one of the principal sources of ASC, drew attention of scientists due to simplicity of sample collection, complete absence of risks to the mother or the newborn, reduced. ASC may be considered as an alternative to the use of bone marrow for treating several hematological, genetic and oncological diseases, both in children[2,3,4] and in adults[5]. Bags must be shipped in temperature controlled boxes, suitable for transport of biological material, and samples must be sent for processing, thereby avoiding having to send patients to another city and making the storage of diversified samples economically viable[9]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion