What is Cord Blood?

After a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, some blood remains in the blood vessels of the placenta and the portion of the umbilical cord that remains attached to it. After birth, the baby no longer needs this extra blood. This blood is called placental blood or umbilical cord blood: "cord blood" for short.

Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood - red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. But it is also rich in hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow. This is why cord blood can be used for transplantation as an alternative to bone marrow.

Cord blood is being used increasingly on an experimental basis as a source of stem cells, as an alternative to bone marrow. Most cord blood transplants have been performed in patients with blood and immune system diseases. Cord Blood transplants have also been performed for patients with genetic or metabolic diseases.  More than 80 different diseases have been treated to date with unrelated cord blood transplants.

The blood within your newborn baby’s umbilical cord contains young stem cells that can renew themselves and become specialized. These cord blood stem cells have been proven in treatment to help children replace damaged blood cells with healthy ones and strengthen their immune systems. Cord blood banking is the process of collecting and storing these stem cells for potential medical use.

Why is cord blood special?

Nearly half of all pediatric transplants worldwide now involve cord blood. To date, over 30,000 transplants have been performed using these amazing healing cells, but it only takes one happy ending to understand why cord blood is so special

Collection is fast, simple and painless.

The collection of your baby’s cord blood happens the day your baby is born. It won't harm mom or baby and it won't disrupt your birth plan. After delivery it’s standard procedure for your doctor or midwife to clamp and cut the umbilical cord. Using Cord Blood collection kit, they will then insert a needle into the cord to collect the remaining blood. Once the collection is complete, they will seal the bag, attach the pre-printed label with your family’s information, and place it in the collection kit. A medical courier will pick up the kit from your hospital room and transport it to lab and storage facility, where lab specialists will process the cord blood in preparation for long-term storage.

Scientists are investigating the possibility that stem cells in cord blood may be able to replace cells of other tissues such as nerve or heart cells. Whether cord blood can be used to treat other kinds of diseases will be learned from this research.