What is Cord Blood?

July is National Cord Blood Awareness Month

Every day, nearly 11,000 babies in the U.S. are greeted into the world with a snip of the umbilical cord and a friendly wake-up pat. Families make their enthusiastic introductions, while doctors clear the remnants of birth from the delivery area. But what if some of this material could be saved and used to treat certain illnesses and diseases.

That’s the concept behind storing and preserving umbilical cord blood. By saving a sample of blood from the umbilical cord and placenta, doctors are now treating certain blood disorders and genetic diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma. Because cord blood is rich in blood forming cells, the medical community has begun researching the possibility of using this cord blood in transplants for treatment of other conditions, as well.