Published April 29, 2026, a new clinical trial shows that pooling umbilical cord blood from multiple donors allows patients with high-risk blood cancers to receive stem cell transplants successfully. Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center reported that 27 of 28 patients survived at least one year without severe rejection symptoms.
A novel approach to umbilical cord blood transplantation could significantly broaden treatment options for patients battling aggressive blood cancers. By combining blood stem cells from several donors into a single product, medical teams are overcoming traditional cell-count limitations that have long restricted cord blood use.
How Dilanubicel Pools Multiple Donors for Transplant Success
Umbilical cord blood donations serve as an effective alternative for patients who require a bone marrow reset due to leukemia or other blood diseases. Because these stem cells do not have to be as stringently matched to be safe and effective, they represent a vital lifeline for patients who lack a close donor match.
The persistent clinical hurdle has always been sheer volume. A single unit of donated cord blood frequently contains too few stem cells to help any given patient.
To solve this volume deficit, researchers utilized a specialized stem cell product named dilanubicel (Deverra Therapeutics). This product combines blood stem cells isolated from six to eight different units of donated cord blood. Those cells are nurtured in a lab and allowed to grow and expand before they are infused into a patient.
“This is the first time transplant patients received cells from what amounts to nine different human beings,”
Dr. Filippo Milano, director of the Cord Blood Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle
Clinical Trial Results and Patient Outcomes
The clinical trial recruited 28 patients with leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome — two types of blood cancer — to receive dilanubicel along with a single unit of cord blood.
The outcomes published April 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrate high survival rates among a highly vulnerable patient group. Nearly everyone in a small group of patients who received these pooled transplants survived at least one year without severe signs of rejection, researchers reported April 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Results showed that 27 of the 28 patients survived at least one year, with none experiencing severe symptoms related to rejection of the transplant.
One patient died, and another relapsed nearly a year after the transplant and received another treatment. That patient is now at least a year into remission.
Immediate Immune Support Without Permanent Engraftment
Detailed tracking of the cellular dynamics revealed a biological mechanism. Researchers found that the pooled stem cells did not engraft long-term into the patient’s bone marrow, but they provided essential early immune support.
A week after transplant, the patients’ blood consistently showed recovery driven by dilanubicel.
“The cells from the pooled donor stem cell product did not remain long term, but they all helped the matched cord blood donor establish a new, healthy immune system in the patient,”
Dr. Filippo Milano, director of the Cord Blood Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle
Future Research and Clinical Outlook
Building on these positive findings, investigators are now seeking additional funding for follow-up clinical trials that include more patients. Medical specialists emphasize that cord blood remains an essential therapeutic avenue.
“Cord blood continues to be an important option for people who need a stem cell transplant, especially those with high-risk disease,”
Dr. Filippo Milano, director of the Cord Blood Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle
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