Cord Blood - Definition & Collection

Definition & Collection

Cord blood is a sample of blood taken from a newborn baby's umbilical cord blood. It contains a rich source of stem cells, which could potentially be used in the treatment over 75 different diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma and anemia. Many expecting parents choose to bank their newborn's cord blood, as it may be useful in the future, should the child or a related family member fall victim to a disease that is potentially treatable by cord blood stem cells.

Cord blood is obtained by syringing out the placenta through the umbilical cord at the time of childbirth, after the cord has been detached from the newborn. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, including hematopoietic cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders. One unit of cord blood generally lacks stem cells in a quantity sufficient to treat an adult patient. The placenta is a much better source of stem cells since it contains up to ten times more than cord blood. Some placental blood may be returned to the neonatal circulation if the umbilical cord is not prematurely clamped. According to Eileen K. Hutton, PhD, and Eman S. Hassan, MBBch, cord clamping should be delayed a minimum of two minutes to prevent anemia over the first three months of life and enriching iron stores and ferritin levels for as long as 6 months. (Ref. "Late vs Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord in Full-term Neonates," JAMA, March 21, 2007) If the umbilical cord is not clamped, and it is not during an extended-delayed cord clamping protocol, a physiological postnatal occlusion occurs upon interaction with cold air, when the internal gelatinous substance, called Wharton's jelly, swells around the umbilical artery and veins.