Cord blood stem cells are being preserved these days for a variety of treatments. So far more than 8,000 children and adults have been helped by transplants from cord blood stem cells. Cord blood stem cells are one of three stem cell therapies that can be used to treat disease. Because cord blood stem cells are less likely to be rejected than the other two types of stem cell therapy (bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplant), they are the favorite for treating many diseases.

Stem cells are important because they create organs, tissues and systems in the body. Doctors use the stem cells from umbilical cord blood to treat hematologic, immunologic, and oncologic disorders. One of the diseases that can be treated by cord blood stem cells is leukemia. In fact, cord blood stem cells are currently primarily used to regenerate blood after chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Transplanting blood-producing stem cells into a person with leukemia can help to treat it; the downside of this is that a person usually cannot use their own cord blood stems cells, as those are most likely infected with the disease as well. This is why, even if you decide not to privately bank your child’s cord blood in a cord blood stem cell bank, you may want to consider donating it to a public bank (which is free).

 If a disease that  can be treated by cord blood runs in your family, or your baby’s sibling has a disease which may be treated with cord blood, you may want to consider privately banking your child’s cord blood.

Researchers are constantly looking for new ways to use cord blood stem cells. Their regenerative quality makes them valuable. Research shows that cord blood stem cells can separate into different types of cells. Because of this, researchers are looking into the possibility of using cord blood stem cells for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, heart and liver disease, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, spinal cord injury and stroke.