Women’s attitude towards umbilical cord blood banking in Poland

Abstract

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is considered as a valuable potential source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. A process of collecting and storing UCB in the immediate period after the birth is called UCB banking. The study was conducted in order to determine women’s knowledge, awareness, preferences and attitude towards UCB banking in Poland, considering the sociodemographic and obstetric factors. A cross-sectional, self-administered, online questionnaire-based study including mostly multiple choice questions concerning attitude and awareness regarding UCB banking was conducted entirely online among Facebook female users in Poland. A total of 1077 participants correctly completed the survey. Most participants (n = 911, 84.6%) were aware of the possibility of UCB banking. Social media were considered as the main source of information (47.5%). However, the participants mostly indicated the doctor as their preferred source of reliable information (86.8%). The majority of women (61.8%) assessed their level of knowledge of UCB banking as still insufficient. Among the participants who supported UCB banking (70%), the following reasons were considered as the most vital: potential possibility of helping their child (93.9%) and helping other relatives (64.4%). More than half of the respondents (66.9%), who have not stored and are not willing to store their children’s UCB, indicated the high cost of UCB banking as the main reason of this decision. The knowledge and awareness of UCB storage and banking possibilities amongst women in Poland could be improved. The professional medical personnel should be a source of reliable information.

Barriers and facilitators to cord blood banking among pregnant women at a university obstetric clinic

“…Further, women of all age groups wanted to receive information about CBB from their doctor's office (18–30 years of age, 80.75%; 31–35 years, 85.06%). Although our population is not primarily urban, the findings of our study are consistent with previous reports 8–17,19,21 …”

“…Although our population is not primarily urban, the findings of our study are consistent with previous reports. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]19,21 Pregnant women's lack of knowledge of the process and purpose of CBB continues to be a major barrier, despite the availability of this information in obstetrical clinics in the form of brochures and via multiple sites on the internet. In this study, only 26% of the sample understood the purpose of CB collection, and minority women-either NHB or Hispanics with a high school diploma or less (50.6%)-were the least likely to be aware of and knowledgeable about CBB.…”

“…Twelve years ago, a study conducted in Berlin, Germany, showed that pregnant women were not knowledgeable about CBB 25 . A recent international study conducted in Poland 17 found that women had insufficient knowledge about the purpose of CBB and the process of collection. Our survey revealed a persistent lack of knowledge regarding CB collection and banking, which was seen by participants as the major barrier to CBB.…”

“…After conducting an extensive literature review of published studies regarding CBB in the last 10 years, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] the investigators developed a 29-item survey examining sociodemographic factors, barriers and facilitators, and women's knowledge and awareness of CBB. The survey captured demographic information (n = 11), including age, race, self-identification as Hispanic or Latino, socioeconomic information (such as household income, health insurance status, and educational attainment), marital status, family history of cancer, and number of children in the household.…”

Pooled evidence from preclinical and clinical studies for stem cell-based therapy in ARDS and COVID-19

“…Lee et al compare the immunomodulatory effect of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (P-MSCs) with BM-MSCs and AD-MSCs, and the study reveals that P-MSCs have much higher immunomodulatory capability than BM-MSCs and AD-MSCs [79]. However, the availability of P-MSCs is very scare due to a lack of awareness of placental stem cell banking is limited [80]. Furthermore, Atluri et al also predict that hUC-MSCs could be the best source for COVID-19 treatments.…”