Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood banking is the process of retrieving umbilical cord blood that remains in the placenta [Page 316]following childbirth and preserving it using a cryopreservation technique for later use. Cord blood contains stem cells that can be used to treat a variety of disorders. The presence of stem cells in cord blood was first detected in 1974, although the first successful transplant was not performed until 1988 in France for a pediatric patient with a rare blood disorder. In 1990, the first successful transplant was performed for leukemia. During the 1990s, cord blood transplants were performed and scientific inquiry followed to track patient outcomes. In 1992, the National Institutes of Health provided federal funding for cord blood transplant studies. In the 2000s, the use of ...