Automated Cord Blood Cell Viability And Concentration Measurements

By Stephen E. Szabo, Ph.D. and Sarah Monroe, B.S., Beckman Coulter, Inc.

Stem cells, due to their differentiation into mature blood cells, are the key to successful bone marrow transplantations. More recently, it has been found that umbilical cord blood is also a plentiful and rich source of hematopoietic stem cells. Thus, both bone marrow and cord blood are used in the treatment of numerous cancers, immunological disorders, and certain genetic diseases.

Cord blood stem cells, however, offer important advantages over cells isolated from bone marrow. Stem cells from cord blood are much easier to secure since they are readily obtained from the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of delivery, whereas harvesting stem cells from bone marrow requires a surgical procedure (usually under general anesthesia). For a bone marrow transplant to succeed, there must be a nearly perfect match of tissue proteins— called antigens—between the donor and recipient. Cord blood stem cells “take” even when there are partial mismatches. Hence, more recipients benefit from stem cells infused from cord blood.

Currently, many facilities provide parents the option to store, or bank, their newborn baby’s cord blood. When cells are banked—usually in liquid nitrogen—two parameters must be accurately assayed. These measurements are cell concentration and percentage of cell viability. These measurements are performed prior to storage and after the thawing process. Cells may decrease in both number and viability, mainly due to the cryopreservative employed in the freezing process (usually DMSO).