• Fatima A Saleh.
• Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut 11-5020, Lebanon. f.saleh@bau.edu.lb.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Jun 4; 55 (6).

AbstractBackground: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) used to be considered waste material and was discarded at birth. However, cord blood is now considered a rich source of adult stem cells that can be used to treat many conditions and diseases. This study was performed to determine pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes toward cord blood stem cell banking and donation in Lebanon. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in antenatal clinics in Beirut and data were collected using a questionnaire distributed to pregnant women after provision of informed consent. A total of 244 women responded. Results: Less than half of the women (46%) reported knowledge about cord blood banking. However, participants with university and secondary education had significantly higher odds of considering UCB storage compared to those with primary education (odds ratio (OR) 8.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.74-27.15 and OR 21.23,95% CI 6.55-68.86, respectively). Older pregnant women were less likely to think about UCB stem cells storage (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.85-0.98). Conclusion: Respondents who had an existing knowledge about UCB stem cells banking in general were more likely to consider storing UCB in blood banks if affordable (45.9%). Therefore, it is necessary to inform pregnant women about stem cell banking so that they can make the appropriate decisions for themselves.

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