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The blood in the umbilical cord of the new born baby is known as cord blood. The average quantity of cord blood will be around 180 ml or 6 oz. it is a rich source of the hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). HSCs are the stem cells which can differentiate into different blood components. These stem cells have the potential to cure many diseases and other conditions. The stem cells derived from the cord blood are similar to the embryonic stem cells, hence they are also known as Cord blood derived embryonic like stem cells (CBE stem cells).
The collection of cord blood is a quick process and the parents should decide about whether to opt for cord blood banking or not in advance before delivery. There are two methods of collection of cord blood. The first one involves attaching a bag to the snapped end of the cord and draining the blood into the bag; this is known as bag method. The other one involves inserting a syringe into the cord and drawing out the cord blood, which is known as syringe method. After the cord blood is collected, it is frozen in liquid nitrogen. This process is known as cryopreservation. It is stored in public or private cord blood banks. The cord blood is collected, processed, tested and preserved for future use.
Unlike the stem cells from bone marrow, CBE stem cells need not be a perfect match between the donor and recipient. CBE stem cell transplantation is still in experimental stages and among the donations that reach the public cord blood banks, only 50 percent will be fit for storage, the rest go waste as samples may not have enough stem cells in them to be stored. The CBE stem cells can’t be used for transplants in adults as the number of stem cells from the cord blood sample will be very low. Cord blood stored in public banks is accessible to all.
