Umbilical cord blood, otherwise known simply as ‘cord blood’ or ‘placental blood’, is the blood that remains in the newborn’s umbilical cord and placenta following birth. In the past, cord blood was considered medical waste and if often discarded, although it is a rich and valuable source of stem cells. It provides a painless, safe and non-controversial means of acquiring stem cells that can be used to treat patients with rare blood disorders.
Cord blood stem cells, which are predominantly Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), are the key to building blocks of the human blood and immune system. In other words, HSCs have the potential to generate blood cells and cells of the human immune system. These cells are less prone to develop Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) because they are more primitive in nature, hence the chance for rejection is less compared to stem cells harvested from adults.
Stem cells that have been isolated from cord blood manually or by using AXP™ AutoXpress Platform are ultimately stored in a cryogenic preservation tank at -190º Celcius in vapour phase.
Why Store Cord Blood Stem Cells?
Simple, quick and painless collection protocol that does not interfere nor complicates the delivery process.
Generally preferred to adult peripheral blood transplantation due to lower likelihood of complication.
