Cord blood is regarded as "The First Gift" from God to a baby. Collecting cord blood is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the time of delivery.
Cord blood has significant medical value and be used widely in transplant medicine.
112 diseases1,2 such as cancers, blood-related, immunity and metabolic diseases can be treated by cord blood. Clinical trials of cord blood application in regenerative medicine have also been conducted to treat patients with cerebral palsy, brain injury, hearing loss and Type 1 diabetes.
Who can use my baby's cord blood?
Cord blood is perfect matched with the baby and the chance of matching with the baby's siblings is higher than other stem cells sources (bone marrows). Research also revealed that the likelihood of a family member who need a stem cell transplant by age 70 is 1 in 217*. Thus, cord blood not only benefits your baby, but also a life reassurance for the whole family.
* Nietfeld JJ et al. Lifetime probabilities of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the U.S. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. Mar 2008;14(3):316-322.
The advantages of cord blood stem cells
| 1. Zero-age： | Highest dividing and differentiating capabilities |
| 2. Pure： | Less polluted by radiation, viruses and medicines |
| 3. Regenerative： | Highly flexible and capable of differentiation |
| 4. Easily available： | Source from placenta and umblilical cord, not hurting the baby and mother |
| 5. Less repulsive： | Less repulsive against the host (allogenic transplantation) |
| 6. High compatibility with tissues: | Higher HLA compatibility (the matching rate of cord blood is 4 of 6, while marrow needs fully matched) |
| 7. Instant： | Immediately usable after thawed, no searching time is needed |
| 8. Lower Cost： | Clients have his/her own cord blood, no extra cost and time required for purchasing and searching a match cord blood unit. |
Comparison between Cord Blood and Peripheral Blood and Marrow
| Items | Cord blood | Umbilical Cord | Bone Marrow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sources | Umbilical Cord and Placenta | Umbilical Cord | Bone Marrow |
| Collection | Collect cord blood from the placenta and umbilical cord after the infant is delivered | Cut the umbilical cord into small pieces after cord blood collection | An invasive procedure which requires a general anesthesia. At least 4-6 months preparation, extracting 1L from the rear of the pelvic bone through a series of injections |
| Age of stem cells | 0 year old | 0 year old | Same age as the donor |
| Main functions | Blood related diseases | ||
| Stem cells concentration | Highest HSCs | Highest HSCs | Lower HSCs & MSCs |
| Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) | Lower chance (None for self transplantation) | Lower (Helps increasing the success rate of HSCs transplants and minimizing of GvHD) | GvHD is the main problem after transplantation and can be fatal in up to 40% of patients* |
| Side effect | No | No | Danger and pain of anesthesia |
| Donor's willingness | No | No | Difficult to find donor |
