Abstract
The establishment of placental/cord blood as a source of clinically transplantable stem cells has been followed by the creation of a growing number of programs involved in placental/cord blood banking and storage. Placentae/umbilical cords delivered either vaginally or through elective cesarean section following an uncomplicated term pregnancy are considered acceptable as the source of a recoverable placental/cord blood unit. The effects of the mode of delivery on the lymphocyte composition of the graft have, however, not been addressed. We demonstrate significant differences in the number of lymphocytes expressing CD3, CD4, or CD56 (mature NK) cells when units obtained either following a vaginal delivery or through cesarean section are compared. We encourage the data obtained in the process of placental/cord blood transplantation to be critically evaluated with respect also to the mode of delivery.
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