Cord Blood Blog

Researchers at Duke University are looking at the possibility of treating children. using cord blood, before they are born.  The scientists are exploring the treatment of metabolic diseases including Krabbe disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), Pelizaeus-Maerzbacher Disease (PMD), Tay-Sachs disease, or Sandoff disease. The babies will be treated, while in utero, using stem cells from banked …

Breaking news last week of federal stimulus funding allocated to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center had meaningful and exciting implications for future research regarding the transfusion of cord blood stem cells to treat blood tumors such as leukemia. The institution will receive more than $40 million across 60 research grants under the American Recovery …

I recently read an article discussing umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants used for the treatment of stroke.  Researchers at the Chi Mei Medical Center in Taiwan used mice to test the effectiveness of umbilical cord blood transplants in treating paralysis, a common, post-stroke problem.  The study discovered that the cord blood improved the animals’ …

A colleague recently discovered an interesting blog. Natalie Curry was the first U.S. citizen to receive a cord blood stem cell transplant. Born in 1985, suffering from Fanconi Anemia, Natalie needed a stem cell transplant. Unable to fine an HLA match through bone marrow, her parents decided to conceive another child as a potential match. …

Scientists at the Salk Institute have been able to reprogram cord blood stem cells to make them very similar to embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are very valuable because they can theoretically be turned into any type of cell. They are controversial because embryos must be destroyed to harvest them. Using reprogrammed adult stem …