Maternal blood contamination of collected cord blood can be identified using DNA methylation at three CpGs.
Alexander M MorinEvan GatevLisa M McEwenJulia L MacIsaacDavid T S LinNastassja KoenDarina CzamaraKatri RäikkönenHeather J ZarKarestan KoenenDan J SteinMichael S KoborMeaghan J JonesPublished in: Clinical epigenetics (2017)
Maternal blood can contaminate cord blood during sample collection at appreciable levels across multiple studies. We have identified a panel of markers that can be used to identify this contamination, either post hoc after DNAm arrays have been completed, or in advance using a targeted technique like pyrosequencing.