Cord blood transplants: Advancing leukaemia treatments and addressing health disparities

Frozen/stored cord blood (CB) products are available for clinical use without delays, facilitating timely transplantation for patients who need urgent treatment, such as those with acute leukaemia. Given the less strict Human Leukocyte Antigen match criteria, CB grafts extend access to transplant for underserved populations, who may not have suitable related or unrelated donors readily available. CB clinical outcomes are steadily improving in experienced transplant centres (TC); furthermore, the robust graft-versus-leukaemia effect is particularly beneficial for patients with aggressive leukaemia, making CB the 'graft of choice' for these groups. However, many TC have abandoned CB transplants (CBT) because of high cost, medical complexity and (now) lack of expertise. This Nutshell review discusses the role of CB in transplantation and the ongoing efforts to optimize CBT practices and improve CB utilization.