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In this column, we will present basic but useful information to all those interested in saving umbilical cord blood from their children or those who are interested in such stored blood for transplant purposes. Previous columns are available in our archive.

Of what potential value is frozen umbilical cord blood/placental blood?

Stem cells from the umbilical cord blood or placenta, just like the stem cells from the bone marrow of a child or adult, can replenish and make all the components of the blood stream and the immune system.

Thus, instead of tossing out these stem cells, a case was made to freeze them just in case the child to whom these cells belong might need them in the future, even though at this time that need might be quite unlikely. When such umbilical cord blood banks or placental blood banks were established, it was thought that the primary use would be as part of the treatment for a malignancy that may develop over time in the person who had his/her own stem cells frozen away. However, there was always this talk about "other potential but untested uses" in the future. When we would counsel some about the value of freezing the cells away, we talked about unknown but potentially beneficial uses of the cells, uses that we cannot foresee at the current time. But in time, other uses for stem cells have been found, such as injecting blood-forming stem cells into the damaged heart muscle of those suffering a heart attack and finding that such cells bring out the formation of new blood vessels and new muscle in the heart. This is one of the many many potential uses of these stem cells and many more uses may come about in the future. Thus, it made little sense to toss out these cells in the umbilical cord or placenta at birth. From this concept came the reality of the banking industry to facilitate the collection, the freezing and the long-term storage of umbilical cord blood or placental cord blood.

Future areas of discussion:

In the next column, we will discuss the way a pregnant woman goes about obtaining cord blood collection and preservation services, why it costs so much to complete the process, and how the cord blood is tested to make sure that it is viable and can still function when thawed and ready to use. We will always close with some information about Cryo-Cell, the world's largest stem cell bank with over 75,000 clients' umbilical cord specimens frozen away.

Cryo-Cell, with headquarters in Clearwater Florida, is the most established of the private cord blood banks in the United States. Specimens collected in delivery rooms are split and stored for safety purposes both in Florida and Arizona. Cryo-Cell is the only publicly traded stem cell bank and thus is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in addition to the usual laboratory and medical regulations. Cryo-Cell nurse staff are available 24/7 to address your questions and queries and to facilitate the collection, freezing and long term storage of umbilical cord blood specimens.

by Michael E. Trigg, M.D.
Former Chair, Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Cryo-Cell International, Inc.

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