Expecting parents can save stem cells from their child’s umbilical cord blood for use in medical transplants. The FDA has approved “cord blood” cell treatment in over 80 diseases, including blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
The cells in cord blood include hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which are also found in bone marrow and peripheral blood. Compared to other stem cell sources, cord blood is usually considered the safest option. Removing stem cells from the umbilical cord is painless for the mother and completely safe for her child. Collected cord blood can be stored successfully for several decades.
The oldest known cord blood sample is still in perfect condition after 23 years of storage.
Once removed, cord blood can be used as a treatment for dozens of dangerous conditions. Doctors receive a stored cord blood sample, called a “unit”, and administer it to a patient in need of stem cells. In current treatments and clinical trials, cord blood cells easily adapt to the host’s body and repair damaged tissue. These cells speed up the body’s natural healing process and reinforce the immune system.
Because of misinformation and misunderstandings about cord blood, many parents and families have mixed feelings about removing stem cells from an umbilical cord.
During cord blood removal, the umbilical cord is cut and clamped just like in a normal birthing procedure. The only difference is that instead of discarding the umbilical cord after birth, medical staff will take the cord to another room and remove leftover blood. The child will not lose any stem cells.
The mother and her child will not experience any pain during cord blood removal as it is no different to them than a normal birth experience. The umbilical cord is cut and clamped, just like normal, and then taken into another room. The mother and her child will experience no difference during or after birth.
HSCs from cord blood are taken safely from the umbilical cord, causing no harm to the mother or her child. These cells, and cord blood removal, are completely different than an embryonic stem cell procedure, which usually destroys the fetus and aborts the unborn child. Cord blood does not place your child in any danger. After birth and the removal of the umbilical cord, you will have a happy, healthy baby to take home with you.
Parents may choose to delay cutting their child’s umbilical cord, which allows blood to drain back into the baby and reduces the risk for iron deficiency. Cord blood removal is still possible if delayed cord clamping lasts less than 5 minutes. At this time, the umbilical cord should still have more than 25% of blood left — this is the minimum amount needed for storage.
Removing umbilical cord HSCs after birth is completely safe. The procedure doesn’t cause any harm to the mother or her baby, but could provide valuable stem cells to a patient that needs them. Cells taken from an umbilical cord are being used in treatments for dozens of dangerous conditions.
Cord blood can be used in treatment for over 80 different diseases, including certain types of cancer. After collection, cord blood is administered to a patient that needs healthy, adaptable stem cells in their system. These cells begin repopulating inside the body, which speeds up the patient’s treatment process and improves their chances of a successful recovery.
Doctors have noted a few benefits of cord blood stem cell transplants:
Doctors and researchers are constantly improving the treatment methods they use during stem cell procedures. While cord blood treatments, and stem cells in general, are still considered an emerging science, dozens of diseases are currently approved for cord blood therapy by the FDA.
Cord blood HSCs have been used in treatment for over 20 years, with over 35,000 transplants completed worldwide. Since the first successful cord blood treatment in 1988, doctors have used umbilical cord cells as a therapy for dozens of different illnesses. Cord blood HSCs now treat over 80 different conditions — in the past 8 years, the list of diseases treated with cord blood has doubled.
Now, almost half of pediatric treatments around the world involve cord blood stem cells.
Cord blood is often given with more traditional types of treatment like chemotherapy. In cancer patients, doctors use heavy amounts of chemotherapy to eliminate diseased cells. Unfortunately, this leaves patients with a dangerously low cell count. A cord blood transplant is then given, which boosts the patient’s cell count and provides them with healthy HSCs.
HSCs can be used as a treatment for:
Once the cells are injected into a patient’s system, they move through the bloodstream to damaged areas like the brain, heart, or other vital organs. After they arrive, the cells adapt into the type of cell most needed by the body, and begin multiplying. This increases the patient’s healthy blood cell count and improves their recovery time.
Stem cells are cells that can multiply an infinite amount of times. This means a single stem cell can create millions of similar cells, which can then become specialized. These specialized cells, which live inside our bodies, can become different cell types throughout their lifetime, depending on what our bodies need.
Why stem cells are different from other types of cells:
Our understanding of stem cells has improved over the past several decades, but researchers are still discovering new ways to collect and use stem cells. Scientists originally believed they could only find enough stem cells for a transplant in bone marrow or an embryo. However, the list of patients with successful cord blood transplants continues to grow, leading many doctors to believe that cord blood is just as effective as bone marrow, with fewer risks and a less invasive collection process.
The two main types of cells found in the umbilical cord are hematopoietic cells and mesenchymal cells. Both of these cells are considered multi-potent, which means they may develop into different cell types over the course of their life.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can divide and create a population of different blood cells. The 3 major types of cells created each affect the body in different ways:
Mesenchymal stem cells, also called bone marrow stromal stem cells, are typically found in bone marrow. Scientists can also find this type of cell in cord blood. When transplanted into the body, mesenchymal cells can create:
Mesenchymal cells are typically found in the actual cord material, rather than in the actual blood. Many banks are now offering both cord blood and cord tissue banking to give patients access to multiple stem cell types. After birth, medical staff will remove blood and cut a large piece of the umbilical cord, which is stored along with cord blood in a facility.
You can learn more about the benefits of cord tissue banking, including potential treatments to spinal cord and cartilage damage, by visiting our cord tissue page.
Scientists have found stem cells all over the body, usually in small amounts. The bloodstream, organs, tissues, and virtually any major part of the body may contain stem cells. However, removing stem cells from most organs or tissues is often too painful and doesn’t give doctors enough cells for a successful transplant.
While bone marrow is the most popular choice for stem cells, and has been around the longest, doctors typically have 3 sources to choose from:
Bone marrow is the original source of HSCs. Doctors have been removing stem cells from bone marrow for over 40 years, and have used these cells in thousands of successful transplants. The bone marrow process is a surgical procedure done in a hospital, and requires an experienced doctor. The procedure requires several steps, all done while the patient is asleep:
The team must also filter out the stem cells, which takes place after surgery. Patients that go through bone marrow donation will have to stay at a hospital and recover for up to 7 days. The average time for a total recovery after bone marrow donation is 20 days, including both hospital time and at-home recuperation.
Doctors can also remove stem cells from the blood stream, often called a peripheral blood transplant. This is quickly becoming a preferred method of stem cell removal, and doesn’t require an invasive surgery or cause the intense pain of a bone marrow removal.
While scientists have known about stem cells circulating in the bloodstream for decades, there usually aren’t enough available for a successful transplant. Researchers have started using cytokines, molecules that stimulate cells and move them into the bloodstream. The peripheral blood collection process takes a few days and works in several steps:
Many white blood cells used in a bone marrow transplant are actually collected from the bloodstream, because this method is easier on the donor and collects almost twice as many HSCs as a traditional bone marrow procedure.
There are benefits and drawbacks with each type of stem cell source. While cord blood banking is the least invasive procedure, and provides the most adaptable HSCs, there isn’t as much research on umbilical cord cells. Research is positive, but doctors still have a lot to learn about treatment and storage of cord blood stem cells.
Bone marrow is the most traditional, and widely-used, source of stem cells. Many doctors are very experienced with bone marrow. However, these cells are much older than those found in cord blood, and may already be diseased. Bone marrow transplants also require a painful surgery that can take weeks to recover from.
Peripheral blood collection is less invasive than a bone marrow transplant, and doctors can retrieve almost twice as many stem cells. However, the chance for graft-versus-host disease, where the transplanted cells attack the patient’s body, is much higher than both cord blood and bone marrow.
Graft-versus-host disease can happen in any stem cell transplant, especially with adult stem cells from peripheral blood and bone marrow. Because these cells have already adjusted to their host’s system, they don’t always adapt to different environments.
Comparing the 3 major sources of stem cells:
If you are interested in learning more about the benefits and drawbacks of bone marrow, peripheral blood, and cord blood, you can read more on our stem cells page.
Cord blood banking is the term for storing a child’s cord blood in a medical facility. Over a million units are stored in private banks, with another 500,000 registered in public facilities around the world. Expectant parents should know that birth is a one-time chance to collect and store these valuable stem cells, which can be used as a treatment for over 80 diseases.
Parents have several options available to them, depending on where they live and what they can afford. The two major choices for cord blood banking are:
When choosing the right option for your family, remember there is no wrong answer — private and public banking each have their own benefits and drawbacks. There are a few major factors that can help you make the best choice for your situation:
Knowing more about your options can help you make the most informed decision for your family. For more information on choosing between private and public banking, read our banking options guide.
After your child is born, their umbilical cord is clamped and cut just like in a normal birthing procedure. Medical staff will move the cord to a different room where they extract blood from the cord and place it into a storage container.
A cord blood unit traveling to a storage facility goes through several basic steps:
If you’ve decided to store your child’s cord blood in a private bank, only your family will have access to these stem cells. You can use them as a treatment for your child, siblings, or close relatives at any point in the future. Parents that donate cord blood won’t have any control over their stem cells, but often receive notifications from the public bank if their cells are used to treat a patient.
Over the past two decades, cord blood has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of over 80 diseases, with more therapies added every year. Private banking protects your family from these dangerous conditions, while a public donation can help researchers find new treatments, or aid a family with little or no medical options.
Cord blood stem cells are too valuable to discard.
With over 1 million cord blood units in private storage, and continued support from the medical community and government, many researchers believe umbilical cord cells will become a standard treatment in the next decade. With dozens of clinical trials currently testing future treatment possibilities for cord blood, there are more reasons to bank your baby’s stem cells than ever before.