The Medical Uses of Umbilical Cord Blood

Blood that remains in the placenta and the umbilical cord after childbirth is referred to as “cord blood” and the stem cells it contains have many uses in the field of regenerative medicine. Stem cells have the unique ability to renew themselves and to differentiate into a number of specialized cell types. This attribute allows stem cells to re-grow tissue, making them useful in a variety of ways.

Researchers in the medical field are making rapid progress in cord blood research. It has already been discovered that cord blood stem cells can be used to treat brain injuries, Type 1 Diabetes, and various cardiovascular conditions. Current research involves the possible use of cord blood to treat stroke and hearing loss in humans. The most successful treatments involve using the patient’s own cells because there is no risk of the individual’s body rejecting the cells.

Cord Blood and Cardiovascular Repair

Research involving cord blood and cardiovascular repair is still in the pre-clinical stage. During completed animal studies, cord blood stem cells were shown to migrate to damaged cardiac tissue during cases of myocardial infarction. These cells helped to improve blood flow and vascular functions and aided the heart in recovering function.

This aspect of cord blood research is also still in the animal study phase. In cases of decreased mobility, cord blood stem cells injected into the blood stream traveled to the brain injury site and helped to reduce symptoms. In cases of stroke, the use of cord blood cells in the brain encouraged the growth of new neurons and blood vessels.

A vast amount of the research conducted shows positive results, but there are some who fear cord blood-related stem cell research may lead to cloning and other extreme medical practices. Regardless of the controversy, the discoveries already made in cord blood research give hope to the medical community that fatal diseases like cancer and genetic disorders may someday be eradicated.

Photo Credit:

Meutia Chaerani - Indradi Soemardjan