A patient at Wilford Hall Medical Center received the first unrelated cord blood transplant in a Department of Defense hospital, Oct. 16.
Before cord blood is transplanted, the patient is treated with chemotherapy to weaken the present disease. The goal is that with enough stem cells given to a patient, these cells will become the new host and grow strong enough to take over the disease, leaving the patient with a healthy blood and immune system.
Cord blood comes from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby. This blood is rich in blood stem cells which are very flexible and can grow into any kind of blood cells.
According to the National Marrow Donor Program, or NMDP, there are three sources of blood-forming stem cells: bone marrow; peripheral blood stem cells, or PBSC; and umbilical cord blood. Each source has pros and cons concerning treatment.
"The major benefit of cord blood is that it opens up donor sources for patients who otherwise wouldn't have a donor," said Maj. Michael Savona, director of cord blood transplantation, 59th Medical Operations Squadron. "Cells from another person have been exposed to a lot of different things in their lifetime; the immune system has had an effect on those cells. Cord blood is so naive you can have less of a match and still be safe."
A match is determined by human leukocyte antigens, or HLA, which are proteins on the surface of the white blood cells that make our cells unique from one another.
"In cord blood we look at six HLA markers instead of the 10 we would look at for unrelated bone marrow or PBSC; because they are so naïve, they are going to have less problems with rejection," said Kathy Jones, WHMC transplant coordinator.
"This patient has five out of six HLA markers that match in one cord and six out of six on the other," said Dr. Savona. "In adults we often have to use two cords in order to give them enough cells."
Cord blood is available faster, does not require an exact match and the risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease is lower. GVHD is a condition where the transplanted cells attack the patient's body.
"To find a donor could take three to four months. Cord blood stem cells are banked and, if we can find a match, they are available tomorrow; you don't have to go through the NMDP," said Ms. Jones, a registered nurse in the 59th MDOS.
"With the cord blood, we have suitable matches for greater than 75 percent of all patients who need the transplant," said Dr. Savona.
After the cord blood is infused, the patient needs to stay hospitalized longer because the umbilical cord stem cells need more time to grow and the patient recovery time is longer.
"I feel great about this procedure. It is life saving," said retired Lt. Col. Jeffery Fink as he prepared to receive the cord blood. "I am excited to be here."
San Antonio has one of the largest transplant programs in the United States. According to the Texas Transplant Institute, the Adult Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Program at Methodist Hospital here performed 160 transplants to include related, unrelated and umbilical cord transplants.
"We are very happy to have the procedure done here at Wilford Hall," said Colonel Fink's wife, Bernadette Fink, who is also a retired Air Force officer. "We have received a lot of support from the staff here."
Cord blood banks allow parents to donate their baby's umbilical cord blood to a pool of available cords, which can help save lives.
For more information about cord blood and donations visit www.southtexasblood.org or the NMDP official Web site www.marrow.org.
| Date Taken: | 10.19.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2009 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 41068 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 173 |
This work, Lackland doctor conducts historic blood transplant, by SrA Amber Bressler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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