Attached Segments and Cryovial Samples as a Useful Tool in Cord Blood Banking Quality Control

Background: Assessment of the umbilical cord blood (UCB) unit is a crucial issue in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A cord blood bank (CBB) must ensure that the final product of transplantation is represented accurately from quality control (QC) products of the UCB unit. The use of a tube segment attached to the UCB unit as well as a separate 1.8 mL cryovial containing an identical aliquot of the cryopreserved UCB unit product was exposed to the same post-processing freezing and storage conditions as the UCB unit. Eventually, the utility of the attached segment and the 1.8 mL cryovial was evaluated as valid QC tools in order the final UCB unit graft to be validated. Methods: A total of 30 cord blood (CB) units, stored in liquid nitrogen, with their attached segments and 1.8 mL cryovials were thawed and several QC parameters (total nucleated cells (TNCs), CD34 + cells, CD133 + cells, percent viability and recovery) were obtained. Functional tests such as clonogenic assays were also performed. Results: Non-statistical differences were observed between UCB units, attached segments and 1.8 mL cryovials for any of the examined parameters. The expected clonogenic efficiency (ECLONE) was above 80% for all the three kinds of thawed samples (UCB unit, attached segment and QC sample). Conclusions: The QC of attached segment and 1.8 mL cryovial linked to the cryopreserved UCB unit may be used as a means to predict the potency and functionality of the actual UCB unit before transplantation. J Hematol. 2015;4(1):125-130 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jh198w