ATTITUDES OF PREGNANT-WOMEN TO UMBILICAL- CORD BLOOD DONATION FOR TRANSPLANTATION

Background/objectives: Umbilical cord blood is an alternative source f or allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from related and unrelated donors. It can easily be collected, cryopreserved and s tored in cord blood banks for later use. In Switzerland, cord blood ba nks for related and unrelated stem cell transplantation are being esta blished. The aim of the study was to evaluate previous knowledge of th e possible medical use of cord blood and acceptance of cord blood bank ing in pregnant women. Methods: We performed a prospective open study using a structured, anonymous questionnaire at the University of Basel Women's Hospital pregnancy outpatient clinic. After concise informati on on the use of cord blood for transplantation, questions were asked concerning previous knowledge of the use of placenta and cord blood in general, concerning the attitude to donation of cord blood for transp lantation, and the respondent's willingness to donate cord blood of he r own child. Women of different ethnic background were compared. Resul ts: From 300 questionnaires handed out to pregnant women of different ethnic background attending our outpatient clinic, 250 (83%) were retu rned, and 245 could be evaluated for final analysis. Only 40% indicate d that they did know what usually happens to the placenta after birth. In contrast, the vast majority (95%) supported the idea of umbilical cord blood for banking and later use for stem cell transplantation. Si milarly, 93% stated that they would agree to donate the cord blood fro m their own child for this purpose, while no statistically significant differences could be identified either between women with or without previous knowledge or of different ethnic background. Conclusions: Thi s study shows the high acceptance of umbilical cord blood donation for banking and stem cell transplantation purposes in pregnant women, irr espective of previous knowledge. As there are no major differences bet ween women of different ethnic background, a high degree of diversity of HLA-types of donated cord blood samples can be expected and may off set the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in bone marrow donor registries.