Abstract
Background: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) used to be considered waste material and was discarded at birth. However, cord blood is now considered a rich source of adult stem cells that can be used to treat many conditions and diseases. This study was performed to determine pregnant women’s knowledge and attitudes toward cord blood stem cell banking and donation in Lebanon. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in antenatal clinics in Beirut and data were collected using a questionnaire distributed to pregnant women after provision of informed consent. A total of 244 women responded. Results: Less than half of the women (46%) reported knowledge about cord blood banking. However, participants with university and secondary education had significantly higher odds of considering UCB storage compared to those with primary education (odds ratio (OR) 8.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.74–27.15 and OR 21.23,95% CI 6.55–68.86, respectively). Older pregnant women were less likely to think about UCB stem cells storage (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.85–0.98). Conclusion: Respondents who had an existing knowledge about UCB stem cells banking in general were more likely to consider storing UCB in blood banks if affordable (45.9%). Therefore, it is necessary to inform pregnant women about stem cell banking so that they can make the appropriate decisions for themselves.
Highlights
We are always striving to live a long and a healthy life and one of the greatest developments in that direction has come from stem cell research and therapy
Stem cells, depending on their origin, have been divided into two groups: embryonic stem (ES) cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells, which are found in adult tissues
The survey was conducted over six months from July 2017 to February 2018, in which 244 pregnant women completed the survey about Umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cell banking
Summary
We are always striving to live a long and a healthy life and one of the greatest developments in that direction has come from stem cell research and therapy. Due to the unique properties and potential of stem cells, stem cell research has expanded and flourished in an attempt to translate laboratory experiments into clinical applications for the treatment of various genetic and degenerative disorders. Among these are cardiovascular diseases [2], neurodegenerative diseases [3], musculoskeletal diseases [4], autoimmune disorders [5], diabetes [6], cancers [7], as well as many other diseases in the human body that could benefit from stem-cell-based therapies [8,9]. This study was performed to determine pregnant women’s knowledge and attitudes toward cord blood stem cell banking and donation in Lebanon
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