In 1988, Matthew Farrow, of North Carolina, became the first person to ever receive a transplant using umbilical cord blood. At the time, Matthew was 5 years old and living with Fanconi anemia, a rare, inherited blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure[1]. Pregnant with Matthew’s little sister, Matthew’s mother had her amniotic fluid… Read more »
For 25 years, cord blood transplants have been saving the lives of those afflicted with devastating diseases. While cord blood is most commonly used to treat blood disorders and to replenish the bone marrow, clinical trials show that cord blood transplants may also be effective in hypoxic brain injuries, including stroke and cerebral palsy. Why… Read more »
A revolutionary technique has opened up new doors for the use of cord blood stem cells as a potential cure for cancer. Medical researchers have long examined the use of cord blood transplants as a method for treating leukemia and other blood diseases. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre Cord Blood Transplant Program Director Dr. Colleen… Read more »
One of the many questions we are asked by expectant parents who are considering banking their baby’s cord blood is: what are the odds of needing a cord blood transplant in the future? In order to answer this question, we must consider not only the types of treatments currently available, but also emerging cell therapies… Read more »
Unlike those of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells, cord blood stem cell transplants do not require an exact HLA match. This is because cord blood stem cells are more primitive and adaptable cells. What this means is that it is easier and faster to find a suitable donor for a cord blood transplant… Read more »
The year of 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the first cord blood transplant. The transplant was performed in Paris on October 6, 1988. Since that time, over 600,000 cord blood units have been collected and stored in more than 100 public cord blood banks worldwide. The field of umbilical cord blood transplants (UCBT) has matured… Read more »