Cord blood transplantation in adults

Umbilical cord blood has several advantages of immediate availability, no risk to donors, a lower risk for acute and chronic GVHD despite major human leukocyte Ag (HLA) disparity, and a lower risk of transmitting infections. As a result of the early successes with pediatric cord blood transplantation (CBT), cord blood from unrelated donors have been increasingly used as an alternative stem cell source for adult patients with hematological malignancies. Recent single-institute and registry-based studies suggest that CBT is a safe, feasible and effective strategy for adult patients without suitable related or unrelated BM donors. In this review, we focus on recent results of myeloablative CBT in adults. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2009) 44, 661-666; doi: 10.1038/bmt.2009.282; published online 5 October 2009