“Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord following the birth of your baby. It is rich in blood stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow, and these can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.” Source:  NHS at https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/cord-blood-bank/what-is-cord-blood/. July 2021 marks Cord Blood Awareness Month. So why does cord blood deserve an […]

Perinatal tissue, such as umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord tissue and placental tissue, is a valuable source of cells for advanced cellular therapies. This includes mesenchymal stem/stromal cells and blood cells such as haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC), natural killer cells and T-cells.  Whilst there are currently no approved therapies for umbilical cord tissue […]

July is our favourite time of the year. Why? Because its Cord Blood Awareness Month which aims to raise awareness of the importance of umbilical cord blood and the amazing powers of newborn stem cells. We’ve put together some common questions about umbilical cord blood and saving our newborn baby’s stem cells.  If you’d like […]

With these words, Charis Ober, executive director of Save the Cord Foundation welcomed expectant parents, healthcare professionals, scientists and the general public to World Cord Blood Day 2019. World Cord Blood Day (#WCBD) is dedicated to advancing cord blood awareness and education around the world. Parents were invited to join a virtual lab tour and […]

Scientists have already ‘printed’ heart-like valves and a femur from stem cells like those in the umbilical cord. So, what’s next for patients? Bioprinting is an exciting research area with potential for repairing injuries, and even replacing whole organs affected by damage or disease. The technology is limited in complexity, viability and speed at the moment but […]

Cord blood banking has become an important part of birth planning. There are now over 4 million cord blood samples held in storage in 500 cord blood banks across the world, and these are increasing by 250,000 a year. But why are parents choosing to pay thousands of pounds to store their child’s umbilical cord blood […]

A leading expert in the field has argued that cord blood may have advantages over the use of unrelated donor bone marrow in transplants in patients with blood cancers. Chairing a session about cord blood transplantation at the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (TCT) 2019 conference, Juliet N. Barker, MD, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, Memorial […]

Tiny bundles of stem cells built in the laboratory using microscopic magnets could pave the way to revolutionary treatments for repairing bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. The technique, developed by British scientists, overcomes one of the main obstacles to unlocking the huge medical potential of mesenchymal stem cells. Naturally found in the bone marrow, the […]

‘Cord Blood Myths and Facts’ by the Cord Blood Association (CBA) offers a useful guide to the accuracy of popularly held views about cord blood banking. Through their piece, the CBA hopes to counter some of the conjecture heard by health professionals with medical fact. Here are 20 myths that can get in the way of […]