Human fetal liver as a valuable source of haemopoietic stem cells for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

The CFU-GM and T cell contents of human fetal livers were studied at various times between 6-14 weeks of gestation. The number of CFU-GM increased parallel to gestational age, especially after week 10. Cells bearing mature T cell markers, however, were found only in one case out of 35 fetal liver samples. Cryopreservation of fetal liver cells hardly affected the viability and proliferative capacity of CFU-GM in the sample. According to these findings fetal liver is, at least up to the 14th gestational week, practically free of mature T cells but it does contain a considerable amount of CFU-GM (an accepted indicator of pluripotent stem cell content), consequently fetal liver can be considered as a valuable source of haemopoietic stem cells for allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for children.