Current Activities of AsiaCORD: Fast Searching System of the Qualified Cord Blod Units for Asian Patients.

The necessities of cord blood transplantation and banking are increasing rapidly in Asian countries as well as others around the world. In China nearly 20,000 units are cryopreserved and more than 100 patients have received transplants using these units. In Japan, more than 17,000 units are cryopreserved and archived in Japan Cord Blood Bank Network and 1,700 patients have received transplants using these units. Adoption of this new medical technology is particularly rapid in Asia because of smaller family size, which makes it difficult to find matched bone marrow donors for patients and treat them by bone marrow transplantation. To facilitate cord blood searching and develop cord blood transplantation, the network of cord blood banks in Asia, AsiaCORD, was founded in November 2000 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The members of AsiaCORD are the leading public cord banks in Asia; Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing(China), Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam), Seoul (Korea), Taipei (Taiwan), Tianjin (China) and Tokyo (Japan). AsiaCORD has established a statute and standards for cord blood banking that is based on the International Standards of FACT/NETCORD while also reflecting each country’s standards, ethics, historical background and epidemiology. The banks have been inspected by inspectors composed with multi centers of AsiaCORD based on the standards. An electronic search system (http://asiacord.org) has been developed and transplantation were performed through the system. A more advanced interactive web site for transplant physicians to directly search AsiaCORD inventory for their patients is under preparation.

AsiaCORD is open to membership applications from additional cord blood banks in Asia who are able to comply with the standards and share their goal to supply cord blood units of only the highest quality to patients in Asia and also those living in all over the world.

The AsiaCORD Inventory and Use (August2004)