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by pkukp9 1579 days ago
I think freezing for future use is the best way to go. A few reasons: 1) cord blood transplants from related donors have higher survival rates than unrelated donors https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm199708073370602 2) this woman was lucky that she was able to find a partial match, but many don't. The combination of using a related blood donor + an unrelated cord blood donor was a lucky strike. I think for many very mixed race folks or especially people of color (specifically Black communities), they may not be so lucky 3) the cost of finding a donor can be extremely steep. Some may be covered by insurance, but not all of it will be. My guess is this woman who was cured from HIV is relatively affluent to some degree. Banking cord blood is considered to be for affluent folks, but the difference in cost of banking vs. finding a donor later on is massive