Unrelated cord blood transplantation in pediatric patients: a report from Saudi Arabia

In unrelated cord blood (UCB) transplantation, survivalhas been shown to correlate with the degree of HLAmatching. Thus, to extend transplant access to differentethnic backgrounds, many western UCB transplantationbanks now encourage donation from non-Caucasians.Until recently, Saudi Arabia did not have a national UCBbank. In this study we report our experience in UCBtransplantation in children using units procured fromwestern cord blood banks. A total of 97 children under-went unrelated UCB transplantation at King FaisalSpecialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC), ofwhich 95 were of Arab ethnicity. A total of 30 patients hadmalignant disorders, 25 patients had non-malignanthematological disorders and 42 patients had inborn errors.Conditioning was according to disease, with six patientsreceiving reduced-intensity regimens. In all, 46 patientsreceived one-Ag-mismatched units and 51 received two-Ag-mismatched units. Engraftment occurred in 93%of patients, the 100-TRM was 15%, acute GVHD developedin 20% of patients and chronic GVHD occurred in 9% ofpatients. The 5-year OS and EFS estimates were 52 and43%, respectively. The search for UCB transplantationunits for Saudi patients in western banks yielded reason-ably compatible units for our patients; the results areconsistent with published data. Our data are encouragingfor UCB transplant programs in countries in which thereare no national UCB transplantation banks.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2010) 45, 1281–1286;doi:10.1038/bmt.2009.350; publishedonline 14 December 2009Keywords: