I have been hearing lots of news lately on the research being done with cord blood. Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta that is usually discarded after birth. However, it can be very beneficial to save a baby’s cord blood. Cord blood is rich with stem cells distinctive to that baby and family. Stem cells are important because they play a role in the development of all organs, tissues, and body systems. Stem cells can turn into other cells where they are needed. Stem cells are just as useful as bone marrow when it comes to treating disease, but they have a much lower rejection rate than marrow does.
I am going to talk about the different studies being done on cord blood research, the uses of cord blood, and why it is more beneficial than bone marrow. I will also address the moral and ethical issues of using cord blood.
Sample Literature
Willing, A.E., J. Lixian, M. Milliken, S. Poulos, and T. Zigova. "Intravenous versus intrastriatal cord blood administration in a rodent model of stroke." Journal of Neuroscience Research. 73.3 (2003): 296-307. Print.
Kohn, Donald, Kenneth Weinberg, Jan Nolta, Linda Heiss, and Carl Lenarsky. "Engraftment of gene–modified umbilical cord blood cells in neonates with adenosine deaminase deficiency." Nature Medicine. 1. (1995): 1017-23. Print.
Rubenstein, P., L. Dobrila, R.E. Rosenfield, J.W. Adamson, and G. Migliaccio. "Processing and cryopreservation of placental/umbilical cord blood for unrelated bone marrow reconstitution." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 92.22 (1995): 10119-22.