Cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of a baby. During pregnancy, oxygen and essential nutrients pass from the mother's blood into the blood of the baby. This lifeline between mother and child is provided through the placenta and the baby's umbilical cord. The blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth is unique because it carries large numbers of blood stem cells blood cells that create the red cells that carry oxygen, white cells that fight disease and platelets that help blood clot. When patients are treated for leukemia and certain other diseases, their stem cells often are wiped out.
Research indicates that cord blood can be used in place of bone marrow stem cells.
This is important when a matching bone marrow donor cannot be found. Studies show that once transplanted, these cells migrate to the bone marrow, where they begin creating healthy blood cells. This process has enabled study recipients to reconstitute their immune systems. There are special cells in cord blood that are present in bone marrow and only in tiny quantities in adult blood. These are the cells that make bone marrow transplants work.