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Collected umbilical cord blood can help people with blood cancer
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Collected blood provided critical immune support during stem cell transplantation
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Almost all patients survived the operation without severe rejection symptoms
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 (NewsDay News) — A new way to use umbilical cord blood — by pooling blood from multiple donors — may make it easier to get stem cell transplants for leukemia, a new study suggests.
Nearly everyone in a small group of patients who received these combined transplants survived for at least a year without severe rejection symptoms, researchers reported April 27. Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“This is the first time patients have received a transplant of cells from nine different people,” said the lead researcher. Dr. Filippo Milanodirector of the cord blood program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, said in a news release.
Umbilical cord blood donations can help patients with blood cancer or other blood disorders who need a stem cell transplant, which essentially creates a healthy regeneration for a person’s blood-producing bone marrow.
The stem cells in cord blood do not have to be strictly matched to be safe and effective, making them a good option for people who do not have a close donor match, the researchers said.
However, the number of cells in a unit of donated cord blood is often too small to help every patient, the researchers said.
For this trial, the researchers used a new stem cell product called dilanubicel (Deverra’s therapist), which combines blood stem cells isolated from six to eight different units of donor cord blood. Those stem cells are grown in the lab and allowed to grow and expand before being injected into the patient.
The team recruited 28 patients with leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome — two types of blood cancer — to receive dilanubicel along with a unit of cord blood.
The results showed that 27 of the 28 patients survived for at least a year, and none of them experienced severe symptoms related to transplant rejection.
One patient died and the other relapsed approximately one year after transplantation. That patient is now in remission for at least a year.
The researchers found that the combined stem cells did not transplant into the patient’s bone marrow for a long time, but they did help with early immunity. One week after the transplant, the patients’ blood consistently showed recovery of dilanubicel.
“The cells produced by the donor stem cells did not last long, but they all helped the matching blood donor to establish a new, healthy immune system in the patient,” Milano said.
The researchers are now seeking additional funding for further clinical trials involving more patients.
“Cord blood is an important option for people who need stem cell transplants, especially those with high-risk disease,” Milano said.
More information
Learn more at the Cleveland Clinic myelodysplastic syndrome.
Sources: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, release, April 27, 2026; Journal of Clinical OncologyApril 27, 2026
What does this mean for you?
Collected blood can help blood cancer patients survive after stem cell transplants.
