Quality control measures in cord blood banking in India - critical appraisal and recommendations.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a potential source of primitive hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) available for clinical application to reconstitute the hematopoietic system in patients lacking conventional stem cell donors. In the last decade because the frequency of UCB stem cell transplantation has increased, the quality of UCB available in banks has become an important criterion for the success of any UCB stem cell transplant. Moreover, with the growing numbers of cord blood banks there is not only a need to improvise quality issues but to also develop a more homogenous approach in setting standards and regulations for assessing them. The present article provides an insight on the importance of cord blood banking in India and the impending requirement to provide clarity on certain issues regarding UCB banking. Furthermore, the article discusses about certain practical approaches which could perhaps be referred to as guidelines (and by no means be solely adopted as the only measures) by cord blood banks in India for establishing or maintaining a standard for quality control (QC) measures.