Content area
Abstract
Objectives:The successful use of vital stem cells from umbilical cord blood (UCB) requires transport under controlled conditions from the location where the UCB was taken to the place of preparation and storage. As part of this research work, the influence of transport time and temperature on the cell quality of UCB is investigated.
Design and Methods:Data from 4 100 autologous stem cell donations from UCB were retrospectively analyzed. For the quality assessment, a large number of parameters in whole blood and in stem cell concentrate before and after cryopreservation were compiled for each preparation. The measurements on the flow cytometer (FACS Verse: TM) were carried out with the aid of the BDTM Stem Cell Enumeration (SCE) kit (BD-antibody mixture CD45 FITC / CD34 PE and 7-AAD). The temperature values recorded during transport in the encrypted VI2 file format were transferred to a CSV file format and processed further with a spreadsheet software. 4°C temperature ranges (0 - 36°C) were defined for the analysis. Within the sample, 36 pairs of twins could be identified for a supplementary evaluation. As part of a correlation analysis, the influence of transport time in the respective temperature ranges on cell quality was examined.
Observations and Results: The whole blood preparations had an average volume of 74,1 ± 25,6 ml. The average total number of leukocytes measured in whole blood was 7,4 ± 4,3 x 108, the leukocyte count 9 537 ± 3 425 / μl and the absolute number of CD34+ cells was 2,1 ± 2,3 x 106. When the aliquot was thawed again, the leukocyte count was 11 092,3 ± 6 323,2 / μl and the CD34+ cell count was 34,5 ± 207,3 / μl. The average viability of the CD34+ cells in the stem cell concentrate before cryopreservation was 99,3 ± 2,3 % and after cryopreservation 88,3 ± 13,8 %. The mean transport time was 21 hours 51 minutes ± 07 hours 37 minutes, with 71,4 % of the donations traveling between 1000 minutes (= 16 h 40 min) and 2000 minutes (= 33 h 20 min). The viability of the CD34+ cells in the stem cell concentrate before cryopreservation was 99,3 % with a transport time ≤ 1000 minutes and hardly changed with increasing transport time. The average viability of the CD34+ cells in the pilot tube after cryopreservation was 89,8 % with a transport time ≤ 1000 minutes and decreased by 5,7 % with increasing transport time. Temperatures in the range between 20 - 24°C were measured most frequently. Additionally, the longest times of the UCB preparations were recorded in this temperature range. In whole blood, the leukocyte and platelet counts showed significant or highly significant correlations (leukocytes: 16 - 20°C: r=-0,058, p=0,001; 20-24°C: r=0,036, p=0,034; 24-28°C: r=0,038, p=0,028 / thrombocytes: 12 - 16°C: r = - 0,039, p = 0,022; 16 - 20°C: r = - 0,06, p = 0,00049; 24 - 28°C: r = 0,059, p = 0,001). For the viability of the CD34+ cells measured in the stem cell concentrate 1 before cryopreservation, there was a highly significant correlation between 24 - 28°C (r = - 0,049, p = 0,003). The correlation analysis in the pilot tube with a thawed aliquot showed a weak influence of transport time and temperature on the viability of the CD34+ cells (12-16°C: r=-0,046, p=0,008; 16-20°C: r=-0,084, p=0,00000086; 20-24°C: r=-0,065, p=0,00014). Between 24-28°C (r=0,039, p=0,022) there was a weak correlation for the viability of the CD34+cells. A division into 1°C temperature ranges or a shift in the 4°C grid did not provide any more information. The analysis of the twins preparations revealed that they were astonishingly similar in all aspects. A total of 3 623 donation data (88,4 %) could be evaluated in the present analysis. 477 donations (11,6 %) were excluded for various reasons.





