China’s seven provincial-level cord blood banks have unveiled a comprehensive action plan to enhance research and clinical applications of cord blood. The initiative was announced at the 12th Cord Blood Symposium, organized by the Chinese Maternal and Child Health Association in Beijing. The participating banks, officially approved by the National Health Commission, are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and the provinces of Guangdong, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang.
The action plan focuses on increasing public awareness about cord blood and cell therapy, improving the quality of cord blood collection, and ensuring high standards in processing and cryopreservation. It also aims to promote the use of cord blood in clinical settings and advance research and applications at medical and scientific institutions.
Cord blood, collected from a newborn’s umbilical cord shortly after birth, has significant potential in treating various diseases. Wei Xiaofei, an official from the Beijing cord blood bank, highlighted that China has over 30 years of experience in cord blood storage and application. The seven official banks have collectively stored more than 2.45 million units of cord blood and released over 45,000 units for clinical use.
‘The action plan enables the seven cord blood banks to leverage their respective strengths, collaborate on targeted research, develop high-quality solutions, and jointly accelerate the translation of scientific achievements into clinical practice,’ Wei stated.
Sun Zimin, a professor from the Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, noted that cord blood can now be used to treat nearly 80 diseases, including leukemia, aplastic anemia, immunodeficiency disorders, genetic metabolic diseases, and certain neurological conditions. She added that through optimizing pretreatment and supportive care, the stable engraftment rate of cord blood transplantation in clinical practice has risen to over 97 percent.
Sun emphasized the importance of establishing larger and higher-quality public cord blood banks to provide lifesaving opportunities for more patients, especially those in urgent need of a transplant who are unable to find a suitable match.