Today, cord blood stem cells have been used in the treatment of over 80 life threatening diseases.1 There have been over 40,000 transplants2 worldwide using cord blood in place of bone marrow for conditions including:
- Solid tumors
- Cancers
- Genetic diseases
- Immune deficiencies
- Blood disorders & leukemias
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What are the emerging treatments where cord blood may be used?
Scientific research is evaluating how cord blood cells may provide new therapies for a broad number of diseases for which there is no effective treatment today. While regenerative medicine has exciting potential, its prospects remain dependent on the success of ongoing research around the world.
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Conditions with clinical trials ongoing:3
- Autism
- Cerebral Palsy
- Type-1 Diabetes
- Stroke
Importantly, a number of the new cord blood cell therapies being researched anticipate requiring cells directly from the patient being treated (i.e. autologous therapies).
Emerging cord blood technologies
Advancements in technology may enable the number of cells available from cord blood collections to be expanded.
The important benefits of cell expansion would be:7
- Extending the period over which cord blood stem cells may be used, as treatments for adults require more stem cells than treatments for a child
- Increasing the potential number of therapies from one unit of cord blood
Why store cord tissue?
Research suggests that cord tissue mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to develop into structural and connective tissue. This important characteristic means that they could potentially be used to treat more conditions than cord blood alone can treat.6
Today, there are 70+ ongoing trials that are investigating the potential of MSCs to help treat a variety of medical conditions including:3
- Stroke
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Wound Repair
Storing cord tissue today may provide future health options for your child and your family.
COVID-19
Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and especially those from umbilical cord tissue, are showing potential to treat COVID-19 as they have been observed to exert a broad set of potential benefits, including improving the lung microenvironment, inhibiting immune overreaction and promoting tissue repair to improve lung function.