Lyophilized Heparin Preserves Cord Blood Stem Cells Better Than Commonly-Used Anticoagulant, Citrate Phosphate Dextrose

PHILADELPHIA, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Lyophilized heparin, a proprietary anticoagulant developed specifically for cord blood collection, demonstrated a better ability to preserve the number of viable cells over a longer period of time than a commonly-used anticoagulant, citrate phosphate dextrose (CPD), according to a study presented today at the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting.  

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"Clinical research has shown that stem cell count is an important factor that can affect treatment outcomes," said Heather Brown, MS, CGC, vice president of scientific & medical affairs at CBR and one of the study authors. "When collecting cord blood, the goal is to save as many stem cells as possible.  Our study demonstrates that using collection bags with lyophilized heparin can result in more viable cells available for storage and medical use."

Once collected, cord blood has a tendency to coagulate – or form clots – which can interfere with stem cell processing and preservation.  To prevent clotting, cord blood collection devices are pre-loaded with an anticoagulant.  Citrate phosphate dextrose (CPD) has been commercially-available for decades. It was originally developed to extend the shelf life of red blood cells collected for use in blood transfusion therapies for patients with severe blood loss or anemia.  However, red blood cells are typically discarded in the process of preserving cord blood stem cells.  Lyophilized heparin was developed by Cord Blood Registry, the world's largest stem cell bank, in an effort to increase the number of cord blood stem cells viable for preservation.

The study objective was to evaluate how both the type of anticoagulant used and the transit time (from hospital to processing laboratory) impact cord blood stem cell viability and concentration.  The results show that cord blood collections with lyophilized heparin maintained cell viability and concentration regardless of transit time; however, the cell populations in CPD collections were adversely impacted 36 hours after collection, showing significantly lower viability and cell concentration.

Umbilical cord blood collections with CPD or lyophilized heparin were matched for blood volume and then categorized according to transit time: those arriving less than 24 hours, between 24 to 36 hours, or greater than 36 hours after collection to CBR's stem cell processing facility. The cell counts were then assessed in each sample by two measures – total nucleated cell (TNC) count and mononuclear cell (MNC) count – both of which are used to predict the time to engraftment as well as transplant survival rates.  The TNC count is considered a standard measure since it is easily reproduced across laboratories and readily available, whereas the MNC count is believed to better reflect the potency of the sample as well as better predict transplant outcomes.

Beyond its efficacy, lyophilized heparin has been proven to be a safe anticoagulant. Heparin is a naturally-occurring substance in the human body.  Because of its broad use in a number of medical procedures, more than one billion doses of therapeutic heparin are produced annually.

"CBR invested significant resources and many years in the development of lyophilized heparin because we recognized the limitations of CPD for cord blood collection," said Brown.  "Expecting parents who have decided to preserve their newborn's stem cells should know that the cord blood collection technology offered by CBR is unique and can deliver a better result."

About Heparin

Developed by CBR in 2003, lyophilized heparin is a dry anticoagulant used to prevent clotting in cord blood collections.  Heparin in general, and lyophilized heparin specifically have several benefits over CPD:

• Increased cell recovery rates:  Cord blood collections using lyophilized heparin have been shown to result in up to a 73% increase in cell recovery compared to collections with liquid CPD.
• Efficacy over a wide range of collection volumes:  The ratio of blood to CPD needs to be kept within a particular range for optimal anticoagulation. By contrast, heparin can work over a wide range of cord blood volumes.  This is ideal for cord blood collection since family banks process cord blood volumes of a variety of sizes.
• Stem cell stability and growth:  One study demonstrated that stem cell numbers increase significantly in cord blood that is anticoagulated with heparin, but this was not observed with CPD.  
• Stem cell function:  In a stem cell transplant, it is important that the cells migrate to the location they are needed. Stem cells collected into heparin retain the ability to migrate significantly better than cells collected into CPD.  
• Visual feedback:  Because lyophilized heparin is in dry pellet form, it provides the collector with the ability to clearly see how much cord blood is in the collection bag.  Collection bags preloaded with CPD start with 35cc of fluid, so after the cord blood begins to mix with the liquid CPD, it can appear that more cord blood has been collected than is actually the case.  

About Cord Blood Registry

Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®) is the world's largest and most experienced stem cell bank.  The company's primary focus is enabling parents to preserve the unique population of stem cells from their newborn's umbilical cord and to ensure the viability of the cells for medical use if needed by the child or immediate family member.   During the last two decades, CBR has processed and stored cord blood units for more than 325,000 newborns from around the world and has released more client cord blood units for specific therapeutic use than any other family cord blood bank.  CBR was also the first newborn stem cell bank accredited and is the most recommended by obstetricians.  The company's research and development efforts are focused on helping the world's leading clinical researchers advance regenerative medical therapies using cord blood stem cells as well as continuing to enhance its industry-leading technical innovations for stem cell collection, processing and storage that optimize quality and cell yield.  For more information, visit www.cordblood.com.

SOURCE Cord Blood Registry

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