Umbilical cord blood is seen as the new source of stem cells to be used in case of stem cell transplants required to treat certain diseases like leukemia.

The earlier form of transplant involved bone marrow transplant as the bone marrow in a person is one of the major source of stem cells that generate the required blood cells throughout his or her life.

This was a tedious surgery and finding a matching donor was a big problem and the list of patients waiting was always larger than the bone marrows available for transfer.

Cord blood is being seen as a remedy for this difficulty as it can be easily collected and stored in proper storage facilities to be retrieved when required. After a baby’s birth, the umbilical cord is clamped.

A small amount of blood (about three to five fluid ounces) is present in the cord and in the placenta after this procedure.This cord blood has been found to be an excellent source of blood forming cells, or in other words, stem cells.

If a person wants to collect the cord blood and provide it for storage, the cord blood will be collected and transferred to a special blood bag, and then will be tested for certain conditions and will be processed and moved to large storage containers where it can be cryogenically stored for up to ten years.

Cord blood storage is a boon for patients with diseases related to stem cells. As the cord blood can be obtained after birth it does not pose any problem to the bay or the mother. Also since the cord blood can be stored safely for a long time, it is easy to retrieve it and use it in case of need.

Cord blood storage facilities are spreading slowly across United States. You might be able to find a cord blood storage bank or other facilities in your own state, or even in your locality.

In case, if it is not so, you can contact your local hospital or medical facility and they’ll be able to provide the required information about nearest cord blood storage facilities.

Currently cord blood storage is being offered by public cord blood banks as well as private facilities.

If a person wants to store his child’s cord blood to be used later in caser of need, private storage banks will offer that facility for a fee. In case of public banks, the cord blood is stored and is available immediately if required by any patient.