Cell therapy unit (Hematology)

The cell therapy unit manages: 

The cord blood bank:
The umbilical cord blood bank contains more than 1000 cryopreserved cords destined for allogenic transplants depending on register demand. Our bank networks with the various international registers and our cord blood is available for all Belgian or foreign patients who need it. Umbilical cord blood has been used for bone marrow transplants since 1989. The blood bank is kept supplied thanks to our close cooperation with maternity units accredited for donation and the generosity of parents who agree to donate. Donations are anonymous. The gynaecologist takes the cordon blood immediately after the baby's birth as soon as the cord is cut. There is no harm to either the baby or the mother. The cord blood taken is frozen and conserved until it is needed by a patient for a transplant. 

The hematopoietic stem cell bank:
The bank contains about 2000 grafts taken from patients who may one day be in need of an autologous transplantation. These are principally patients suffering from lymphomas and myelomas.

The bank conserves the stem cells for the IRIS-ULB network as a whole. In the majority of cases the patients from which hematopoietic cells have been taken receive an autologous transplantion within a year of the graft being taken.   

For allogenic transplants from a family donor or register, the cells pass through the bank but are used immediately, only surplus stem cells being frozen for possible subsequent use for the same patient, even if several years later. In the case of   semi-compatible (haploidentical) transplants, to cross the barrier of incomplete compatibility (50% compatible), the cell therapy unit uses strategies of  lymphocyte depletion of the graft to prevent the graft reacting against the host  (graft versus host disease : GVHD).

Therapy cell bank: 
More recently, the therapy cell bank has faced the new challenge of immunotherapy. The bank is accredited for preparing and storing mesenchymal and dendritic cells for the production of anti-tumoural "vaccines" and specific antigenic lymphocytes (anti-viral or anti-tumoural). In this connection, the Bordet Institute is participating in the clinical trial for the NKR-2 candidate product, a cellular immunotherapy developed by a Belgian biotechnology company.  

Cell therapy is a treatment strategy that uses cells and that seeks to replace, repair or modify the biological activity of a damaged organ or tissue. It is known as cellular immunotherapy when the therapeutic weapon used is immune system cells (especially lymphocytes). These can be autologous lymphocytes (taken from the patient), which must be activated or modified in advance in the laboratory, or allogenic lymphocytes (taken from a donor). 

Every day our immune system eliminates cancer cells, thereby avoiding the appearance of tumours. But due to a number of factors, not all of which have been identified, at a certain moment it stops fulfilling this mission and allows cancer cells to multiply. In most situations, after conventional treatment our immune system is unable to eradicate the residual cancer cells that survive chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. A balance can be established between the cancer and the immune cells resulting in a clinical remission that can last several months or years. If this balance is broken, there is a return of the cancer. The high rate of recurrence in cancers shows the frequent ineffectiveness of the immune system in ultimately controlling the residual cancer cells. In this context, cellular immunotherapy aims to strengthen the immune reactions against the cancer and thereby achieve the final eradication of the disease. 

Immunotherapy can be used alone to treat certain cancers but in most cases it seems to be more effective if used in combination with other types of treatment. 

Our team provides medical and paramedical training specific to the techniques of GMP handling of cell products for interns seeking to spend time at the unit.