When a baby is born, the blood left inside the umbilical cord is very special. Cord blood is packed with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), known for their ability to develop into blood and immune cells.
Cord blood stem cells have been used for over thirty years in the treatment of more than eighty conditions of the blood and immune system, as part of a stem cell transplant. These include sickle cell anemia and cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, among other conditions.
A baby’s umbilical cord is also made of tissue. There’s exciting research on using cord blood and cord tissue for regenerative medicine, which aims to restore or establish normal function in the body. Autism, cerebral palsy, and hearing loss are among some of the many conditions that have been studied. In fact, over 300 clinical trials worldwide have been initiated studying the potential new uses of cord blood and tissue