Cord Blood Transplants Printer Friendly PDF Cord blood
transplants treat serious and often fatal diseases such as
leukemia, sickle cell anemia, lymphoma, immune system disorders,
and neuroblastoma. Cord blood, the blood that remains in the
umbilical cord after a baby is born, is rich in stem cells, an
effective alternative in treating diseases that would otherwise
require a bone marrow transplant. - Autologous transplants:
patients receive their own stem cells. - Syngeneic transplants:
patients receive stem cells from their identical twin. -
Allogeneic transplants: patients receive stem cells from their
brother, sister, parent, or an unrelated donor. Since the first
cord blood transplant in 1988, thousands of cord blood stem cell
transplants have been successfully performed, but transplants
attempted with a patient’s own umbilical cord blood remain
extremely rare. The estimated odds of a child needing a
transplant with their own cord blood are one in 100,000 or
higher. Most cord blood transplants in the U.S.