Why should cord blood be preserved?

Umbilical stem cells are used today as a routine therapy in bone marrow and stem cell transplantations, as well as in the treatment of more than 70 different diseases, and the number of cord blood stem cell transplantations is increasing. These transplantations have been found to be more successful in all aspects, and the percentage of patients recovering from their disease with this type of transplantation is considerably higher, as compared to transplantations of stem cells from bone marrow.

According to Prof. Arnon Nagler, director of the cord blood bank at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer: “Cord blood cells donation has a great advantage in terms of availability; there is no need to locate and identify a family member or an adult suitable for bone marrow donation, a process which is liable to take two or three months. Moreover, only one of every four patients finds a suitable bone marrow donor among his or her family members.”

Collection and preservation of cord blood reduce the need for finding a suitable donor, therefore treatment with cord blood stem cells has become a common medical procedure in the treatment of malignant and genetic diseases. Since cord blood stem cells are immature, and have not yet differentiated, they possess a high capacity to adapt and to be accepted by the patient's body. Thus, in transplantation of cord blood stem cells between family members (or an unrelated donor), even a partial match is sufficient for transplantation, in contrast to adult stem cell transplantation requiring a full match. This fact significantly increases the potential for donations within the family and the potential of engraftment in cord blood stem cell transplantations


Stem cells from umbilical cord blood offer 100% compatibility for the child him- or herself, and a very high chance of compatibility for other family members.

This means that cord blood stem cells serve as a replacement for bone marrow transplantations, and are used to treat and cure malignant or hereditary diseases. Cord blood stem cells are used today as a routine therapy in treating more than 70 different diseases.

The number of cord blood stem cell transplantations is increasing, since these transplantations have been found to be more successful in all aspects, and the percentage of patients recovering from their disease with this type of transplantation is considerably higher, as compared to transplantations of stem cells from bone marrow.

However, it must be noted that any decision with respect to the type of treatment to be provided is made by the physician or the treatment team. Such a decision is made on the basis of the information available at the time of incidence with respect to the patient, the disease, all the known solutions and the appropriate action to take. The more we progress in medical research and discover more and more solutions for diseases and medical treatments based on the use of stem cells, so it becomes more likely that the medical team will decide to use them for treatment.