After choosing a name for your newborn, the next decision you’ll need to make is whether or not you want to save their cord blood. It’s a choice you will need to make swiftly, as the window to successfully store your child’s cord blood and cord tissue is a relatively small one.

While there is a lot of information available for expecting parents, sifting through all the options to find the best cord blood bank can be overwhelming, especially if you’re not exactly familiar with all the terms and technology. [Read more…]

Over the past 30 years, cord blood and cord tissue have gained popularity and commercial traction due to the valuable stem cells they contain. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, there are approximately 1,300 clinical trials evaluating the use of cord blood and tissue-derived cells. These studies typically leverage unmanipulated whole cord blood (total nucleated cells/TNC), mononuclear cells (MNC), or cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). [Read more…]

Cord blood is the blood present in the umbilical cord and placenta after the delivery of a newborn. Before the birth of the baby, stem cells and immune cells are transferred from the mother to the fetus in order to boost the immune systems of the mother and baby in preparation for labor. Thus, at the time of delivery, the blood in the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells and other cells of the immune system. [Read more…]