Knowledge about umbilical cord blood banking among Greek citizens.

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord blood supplies in Greece are not sufficient to meet the high transfusion needs. This study was designed to determine Greeks' opinion about umbilical cord blood, identify the reasons for the lack of motivation to donate umbilical cord blood and allow experts to establish better recruitment campaigns to enrich the donor pool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The attitudes and knowledge about umbilical cord blood of randomly selected Greek citizens (n=1,019) were assessed by means of a standardised anonymous questionnaire. The results were analysed using the χ2 test and Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of respondents knew about umbilical cord blood and had full knowledge about what storage/donation offers. Media (35%) and doctors (25%) were the main source of information. The information from the state was considered either inadequate or non-existent by 85% of the responders. Ninety-five percent of the people questioned would like further information regarding umbilical cord blood transplantation and umbilical cord blood storage/donation. Six percent of the respondents who had children and were in favour of umbilical cord blood transplantation, had stored/donated UCB. With regards to future decisions, 84% of the sample would store/donate umbilical cord blood, of whom 57% would keep the umbilical cord blood in a private bank. DISCUSSION: It was concluded that Greek citizens receive information about umbilical cord blood from both the state and advertising campaigns by the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity. A kind of cooperation between all hospitals and public umbilical cord blood banks would be advisable in order to facilitate access to umbilical cord blood donations.

Schwann cell-like remyelination following transplantation of human umbilical cord blood (hUCB)-derived mesenchymal stem cells in dogs with acute spinal cord injury.

Human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) have significant therapeutic potential in cell-based therapies following spinal cord injury (SCI). To evaluate this potential, we conducted our preliminary investigations on the remyelination of injured spinal cords with hUCB-MSC transplantations and we observed its long term effects on dogs with SCI. Of the ten injured dogs, seven were transplanted with hUCB-MSCs 1 week after SCI, whereas the remaining three dogs were not transplanted. Two transplanted dogs died over the first month after transplantation because of urinary tract infection, bedsores and sepsis. The SCI dogs showed no improvement in motor and sensory functions and their urinary dysfunction persisted until they were euthanized (from 3 months to 1 year) while hind-limb recovery in 4 dogs among the five transplanted dogs was significantly improved. In the recovered dogs, functional recovery was sustained for three years following transplantation. Histological results from five transplanted dogs showed that many axons were remyelinated by P0-positive myelin sheaths after transplantation. Our results suggest that transplantation of hUCB-derived MSCs may have beneficial therapeutic effects. Furthermore, histological results provided the first in vivo evidence that hUCB-MSCs are able to enhance the remyelination of peripheral-type myelin sheaths following SCI.

An analysis of decision making in cord blood donation through a participatory approach.

We analysed knowledge, comprehension, opinions, attitudes and choices related to cord blood donation in seven heterogeneous focus groups including pregnant women, future parents, cord blood donors, midwives and obstetricians/gynaecologists. Comparative evaluations focused on attitudes before versus after delivery and preferences of public versus private banking. The study outlined large support to altruistic cord blood donation and need for better health professionals education in this field. Collected information was presented in a public conference and used to develop an informative brochure which was tested for readability and clearliness in four workshops and finally distributed to 26 regional delivery suites.

Pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes about stem cells and cord blood banking.

AIM: This study was to determine pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes towards stem cells and cord blood banking in Istanbul, Turkey. BACKGROUND: Stem cell research is one of the most important and, at the same time, the most controversial topics of science and technology today. Nurses need to understand stem cell research so they can enter the debate on this issue. They can become important sources of information in order to help parents understand the issues. METHODS: This exploratory descriptive study was conducted in two antenatal outpatient clinics in Istanbul. The sample consisted of 334 pregnant women during routine prenatal visits. Data were collected in interviews by using an interview form developed by the researchers according to the literature. The form included demographic characteristics of participants and 20 questions about stem cells, storing cord blood and banking and 10 independent attitude statements. RESULTS: The majority of the participants had a lack of knowledge about stem cells and cord blood banking and wanted more information. Before pregnancy, they received some information through the media (newspaper, Internet, television, etc.), but unintentionally. It was determined that they wanted information before becoming pregnant, more from their obstetrician but also from nurses and midwives. The majority also wanted to store their infants' cord blood and stated that they would be more likely to choose a public cord blood bank. CONCLUSION: Those giving ante- and perinatal care need to offer accurate and scientific counselling services on this subject to parents who need to be informed.

Utility of the psychosocial assessment of candidates for transplantation (PACT) scale in allogeneic BMT.

The psychosocial assessment of candidates for transplantation (PACT) scale was completed before the transplant on 120 patients who underwent allogeneic transplant from November 2003 to June 2007. The PACT has eight subscales, each rated on a 5-point scale, and an initial and final rating independently based on the rater's overall impressions of the candidate's acceptability for transplant. This exploratory study assessed the clinical utility of the PACT scale for psychosocial screening in allogeneic BMT. Associations of the PACT subscales and the final rating with sixteen post transplant medical outcomes were examined using the Jonchkheere-Terpstra test, the Cochran-Armitage test or the Cox proportional hazards analysis. Significant relationships (P

Having a child to save a sibling: reassessing risks and benefits of creating stem cell donors.

This manuscript assesses the risks, benefits, and ethical concerns regarding the use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) to create a new donor for stem cell transplantation. We address ethical literature, the medical and psychosocial impact on patient, donor, family, and medical caregivers, and the appropriate decision-making process. We conclude that the use of ART to create a stem cell donor can be ethically acceptable. The decision to conceive a donor has medical and psychosocial implications. The family is the appropriate decision-maker and must consider risks and benefits to all parties with input from medical caregivers.

Patients' knowledge of umbilical cord blood banking.

OBJECTIVE: To determine patients' knowledge of umbilical cord blood banking (UCBB). METHODS: A questionnaire was administered. Part 1 queried issues of familiarity with the term UCBB. Those patients with any awareness of UCBB were provided with part 2, asking more detailed questions that assessed knowledge. RESULTS: Four hundred twenty-five patients completed the survey; 37% had no knowledge of UCBB. Older patients and those with higher degrees of education were more aware of UCBB, and the greatest disparity of knowledge was noted among Native American patients (p < 0.001). Of patients indicating familiarity with UCBB, 2.6% felt "extremely knowledgeable," while 74% felt "minimally informed." Fifty percent of the patients were misinformed that UCBB was only for "the child that I will deliver." Seventy-one percent of patients were not planning UCBB, with "expense" and "insufficient knowledge" as the primary reasons cited. Only 14% of patients were educated about UCBB by their nurse or obstetrician, although 90% of patients expected their obstetrician to answer their questions on UCBB. CONCLUSIONS: Patients are poorly informed about UCBB, especially ethnic minorities, younger patients and those with lesser degrees of education. Few patients receive UCBB education from health care providers, yet most patients expect their obstetrician to be able to answer questions on UCBB. Lack of knowledge and expense remain barriers to UCBB. Opportunities to educate patients and obstetric providers on UCBB should be pursued.