UCB Banking

LYNNE JETER

UCB Banking | Sharon Cranford Easterling, University of Southern Mississippi, St. Joseph’s Hospital

(L-R) Sarah Caroline Ferris, 13, umbilical cord blood donor; Kristen Lauren Ferris, 22, senior at the Southern Miss School of Nursing; Kelli Perrin Ferris, 19, freshman at Southern Miss Theatre and Dance, and acute lymphocytic leukemia survivor; & Lillian

Southern Miss Nursing Instructor Reveals Pregnant Women Are Poorly Educated on Potential Life-Saving Option at Birth

HATTIESBURG—Sharon Cranford Easterling, MSN, RN, learned the vital importance of umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking when her 4-year-old daughter, Kelli, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1994. 
 
At that time, she was a nurse working for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla., interested in learning more about the relatively new concept. When she became pregnant with her third daughter, Sarah, at an unexpected time, she knew to store the UCB after her birth in 1996.
 
Easterling became further involved with UCB banking when she needed to pick a nursing research study as part of the master’s degree program requirements at Alcorn State University. She wondered: Are pregnant women aware of the tiny window of opportunity after their child’s birth to have UCB stored, and what, as nurses, can we do to insure this window has been explored? She dove headlong into the project, which resulted in the thesis, “UCB Banking: An Examination of Pregnant Women’s Knowledge and Attitudes,” published in December 2008.
 
“I was really surprised to learn that many pregnant women don’t know anything about UCB banking,” said Easterling, a nursing instructor on staff at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Nursing. “Our role as healthcare providers is to educate them about it and its benefits.”
 
In a survey to 64 pregnant women to determine their knowledge of UCB banking, Easterling explained that cord blood is the blood present in the umbilical cord and placenta, which has traditionally been discarded after birth. She also explained that stem cells located in the UCB have the potential to treat life-threatening disease for the newborns, as well as for siblings, parents and grandparents. The UCB may be stored frozen in a public bank, making it available to anyone, or it may be kept in a private bank, available only to the donating family. She also pointed out that the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from UCB is increasingly becoming the preferred treatment for malignant, benign and inherited disorders.
 
The findings of the study reflected a response primarily from Caucasians, ages 21 to 30, earning about $30,000 annually, and having a higher education degree. 
 
The results of the study indicated:
 
  • 72 percent of pregnant women surveyed had not been approached regarding UCB banking.
  • Most surveyed wanted to learn more about the highly technical procedure, in case their child ever needed a bone marrow transplant.
  • Two of three pregnant women believed their partner should have a choice whether the UCB is stored in a public or private bank, yet they overwhelmingly agreed that the pregnant woman should have the final choice.
  • Most pregnant women said they would choose private storage of the UCB as good insurance for their family. However, they would only pay $50 to $100 per year for private UCB storage. They believed the government should pay for publicly banking the UCB.
 
“No public UCB banks exist in this southern state (Mississippi), so the ability to have women donate the UCB of their newborn for altruistic reasons isn’t a practical choice,” she said. “The cost of private banking is the main deterrent to women in regard to storing the UCB for possible future use. The cost would likely have to decrease for private banking to become a frequent decision, even though previous research has indicated that the future of UCB stem cell research holds promising results.”
 
Even though Easterling is pleased with progress being made educating pregnant women on UCB banking, work remains ahead.
 
“From a nursing research standpoint, a rich baseline of knowledge has been established,” she said, “allowing nurses to enter into the nursing situation with the intention of providing for the expectation and needs of pregnant women through nursing as caring.”
 
UCB remains viable and effective post transplant after being cryopreserved for 15 years, said Easterling.
 
“Sarah’s cord blood remains stored in Boston, and I gladly pay $100 per year on her birthday to the private company,” she said. “Even though Kelli, from a medical standpoint, is officially ‘cured,’ Sarah’s (now 13) UCB remains available if ever needed. We have no idea what the future holds for these umbilical cord blood stem cells, but we feel a sense of relief to have them available if ever needed.”