Cord Blood and Tissue in the Treatment of Disease

Cord blood is a proven treatment of more than 80 diseases and conditions including numerous types of malignancies, anemias, inherited metabolic disorders and deficiencies of the immune system. It has saved thousands of lives around the world through more than 50,000 transplantations. The majority of these cord blood transplantations have been performed in patients younger than 18 years of age; however, with advancements in regenerative medicine, it is foreseeable that individuals of all ages can benefit from this therapy in the near future. Transplantations are characterized as either autologous (cells of the donor) or allogeneic (cells of a matched sibling or other family member).

In addition to the proven treatments, researchers are looking into other diseases cord blood can treat. Promising research that could potentially impact a countless number of lives is being conducted in the treatment of autism, cerebral palsy, adult stroke and more. Below is a partial list of diseases currently being researched or treated using stem cells like those found in cord blood and cord tissue:

 

Cord Blood Stem Cells in Preclinical Research and Clinical Trials

Diagnosis
(Odds)
Possible use by the baby, its sibling or other family members 1
Acquired Hearing Loss
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(1 in 8 Children 6–19 in U.S.)
Autism
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(1 in 68 Children in U.S.)
Cerebral Palsy
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(1 in 300 Children 5–10 in U.S.)
Congenital Heart Defects
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(1% of births each year in U.S.)
Crohn's Disease
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(0.006% of U.S. population)
Diabetes
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(9% of U.S. population)
Eczema
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(13% of Children in U.S.)
Parkinson's
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(0.3% of U.S. population )
Signs of Ageing
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Stroke
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(1 in 20,000 before 19 in U.S.)
Traumatic Brain Injury
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(No. 1 Cause of Childhood Death in U.S.)
 

Cord Tissue Cells in Preclinical Research and Clinical Trials

Diagnosis
(Odds)
Possible use by the baby, its sibling or other family members 2
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
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(1 in 1,000 in U.S.)
Alzheimer's
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(50% of those 85 and Older in U.S.)
Cartilage Injury
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Cleft Palate Repair
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(1 out of 1,000 Births in U.S.)
Heart Disease
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(Leading Cause of Death in U.S.)
Lupus
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(Affects 1 of 250 in U.S.)
Multiple Sclerosis
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(Affects 1 of 750 in U.S.)
Parkinson's
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(0.3% of U.S. population)
Rheumatoid Arthritis
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(~1% of U.S. population)
Spinal Cord Injury
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Stroke
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(1 in 20,000 before 19 in U.S.)
Wound Healing
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Diseases Treated by Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation

Diagnosis Possible use by the baby (autologous) Possible use by sibling or other family member (allogeneic)
Leukemias
(60,000 Diagnoses Each Year)
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia  
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia  
Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia  
Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia  
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)  
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)  
Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (JCML)  
Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML)  
Refractory Anemia (RA)  
Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts (RARS)  
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts (RAEB)  
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation (RAEB-T)  
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)  
Lymphomas
(80,000 Diagnoses Each Year)
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Solid Tumors
Neuroblastoma  
Medulloblastoma  
Retinoblastoma  
Anemias
Aplastic Anemia  
Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia  
Fanconi Anemia  
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH)  
Inherited Red Cell Abnormalities
Beta Thalassemia Major (also known as Cooley’s Anemia)  
Blackfan-Diamond Anemia  
Pure Red Cell Aplasia  
Sickle Cell Disease  
Inherited Platelet Abnormalities
Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thrombocytopenia  
Glanzmann Thrombasthenia  
Inherited Immune System Disorders
SCID with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency (ADA-SCID)  
SCID which is X-linked  
SCID with absence of T & B Cells  
SCID with absence of T Cells, Normal B Cells  
Omenn Syndrome  
Kostmann Syndrome  
Ataxia–Telangiectasia  
Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome  
Common Variable Immunodeficiency  
DiGeorge Syndrome  
Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency  
Lymphoproliferative Disorders (LPD)  
Lymphoproliferative Disorder, X-linked (also known as Epstein–Barr Virus Susceptibility)  
Wiskott–Aldrich Syndrome  
Myeloproliferative Disorders
Acute Myelofibrosis  
Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia (Myelofibrosis)  
Polycythemia Vera  
Essential Thrombocythemia  
Phagocyte Disorders
Chediak–Higashi Syndrome  
Chronic Granulomatous Disease  
Neutrophil Actin Deficiency  
Reticular Dysgenesis  
Bone Marrow Cancers
Multiple Myeloma  
Plasma Cell Leukemia  
Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia  
Inherited Immune & Other System Disorders
Cartilage–Hair Hypoplasia  
Gunther’s Disease (Erythropoietic Porphyria)  
Hermansky–Pudlak Syndrome  
Pearson’s Syndrome  
Shwachman–Diamond Syndrome  
Systemic Mastocytosis  
Inherited Metabolic Disorders
Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS)  
Hurler’s Syndrome (MPS–IH)  
Scheie Syndrome (MPS–IS)  
Hunter’s Syndrome (MPS–II)  
Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS–III)  
Morquio Syndrome (MPS–IV)  
Maroteaux–Lamy Syndrome (MPS–VI)  
Sly Syndrome, Beta–Glucuronidase Deficiency (MPS–VII)  
Mucolipidosis II (I–cell Disease)  
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)/Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN)  
Krabbe Disease (Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy)  
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy  
Pelizaeus–Merzbacher Disease  
Gaucher Disease  
Niemann–Pick Disease  
Sandhoff Disease  
Tay–Sachs Disease  
Wolman Disease  
Lesch–Nyhan Syndrome  
Osteopetrosis  

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General disclaimers:
The information provided above should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.

1) Cord blood use is determined by the physician and depends on the patient’s health, cord blood unit characteristics, and the donor match. While the use of cord blood in transplantation is well established, its regenerative medicine use is still being researched. No guarantees exist for future treatments currently under study.

2) Please be aware that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet granted approval for the clinical use of any products manufactured from cord tissue. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that any clinical applications using cord tissue will receive FDA approval in the future.