Umbilical Cord Blood

Welcome! The decision to donate your baby's cord blood is a daunting one, and here I have done my best to explain umbilical cord blood and its potential uses, risks, and drawbacks in an easy-to-understand manner. Lots of hype surrounds cord blood and its precious stem cells.

One thing to note is that the stem cells in cord blood are not the same stem cells you hear about in the media- those are embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells, cord blood stem cells are hematopoetic.

What is umbilical cord blood?

When a baby is born, the umbilical cord is cut from the baby after the placenta has been delivered. Since the baby no longer needs this blood from the umbilical cord, it can be taken through the umbilical vein and collected from the very small amount that drains naturally.

Within the cord blood are hematopoetic stem cells (again, different than embryonic stem cells). These can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions, and currently they are used in lieu of bone marrow transplants. Primarily they treat disorders of the blood and immune system, but technology gets better everyday.

Closeup of newly-centrifuged cord blood stem cells.

Is it safe to donate or bank my baby's cord blood?

Yes, it is medically safe. Because the cord blood is separated after your baby is already born, the collection of umbilical cord blood poses no health risks to the mother or child.

What happens after the blood is taken?

The blood is processed and tested for diseases and bacteria. Then the type of tissue is recorded, and the blood is stored at a cord blood bank in liquid nitrogen for later use.

What is in cord blood?

Cord blood contains red and white blood cells, plasma (to carry nutrients), platelets (for clotting), and blood-forming stem cells. Because blood-forming stem cells are similar to the cells found in bone marrow, it can be used for transplants in lieu of bone marrow.

Cord blood stem cells being separated in a centrifuge.

Do we as new parents really need to store the cord blood?

More than 70 different diseases can be treated using the stem cells from this blood, and by age 21 there is a 1:2700 chance your child will need them. There is a 1:1400 chance another family member will need it.

Right now, it is used mostly to treat immune system disorders and disorders of the circulatory system. In the future, however, research suggests we will be able to use these cord blood stem cells to create all kinds of tissue, most notably nerve and heart cells.