ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Umbilical Cord Blood Collection at Birth Reduces Early Iatrogenic Blood Loss in Preterm Infants with Birth Weights <1500 g
Huihui Wu 1
Lin Cheng 2
Jiajun Lei 3
Jiaolin Chu 2
Tao Bo 2
1. Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
2. The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
3. Hunan Traditional Chinese Medical College, Zhuzhou, China
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Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: Frequent blood collection leads to anemia and increased transfusion needs. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) collection has been suggested to reduce the need for subsequent blood draws, but its effectiveness, especially in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI), remains insufficiently explored. Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xiangya Third Hospital, Central South University (No. 23673), which granted a waiver of informed consent in accordance with national regulations and institutional guidelines, stratifying infants into two groups based on whether UCB was collected at birth: the UCB collection (UCB, 68 infants) group and the non-umbilical cord blood collection (NUCB, 70 infants) group. These cohorts were further analyzed according to birth weight (BW), with 64 infants with BW ≧between 1250-1499g (UCB=21, NUCB=43) and 74 infants with BW<1250g (UCB=47, NUCB=27). Clinical data were then collected and analyzed. Results: Among preterm infants with BW < 1250g, the occurrence of hemoglobin (Hb) <120 g/L within the first week after birth, the volume of blood drawn within the first 24 hours and the first three days after birth were significantly lower in the UCB group than in the NUCB group (P<0.05); the rate of non-transfusion within 7 days after birth was higher in the UCB group than that in the NUCB group (P<0.05). In preterm infants with BW ≧between 1250-1499g, the volume of drawing bloodblood drawn within 24 hours and within the first three days after birth was significantly lower in the UCB group than in the NUCB group (P<0.05). Conclusion: UCB can effectively reduce the volume of blood drawn from VLBWI in the early postnatal period, and help protect those preterm infants from adverse stimuli. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2500113741.
Summary
Keywords
Blood Transfusion, Neonatal anemia, premature infants, umbilical cord blood, very low birth weight infants
Received
04 November 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Wu, Cheng, Lei, Chu and Bo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Tao Bo
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