Cord Blood Awareness month is officially underway, and one of the main objectives of the campaign is to encourage families to learn more about the umbilical cord blood. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, which can develop into other types of blood cells, and potentially provide therapy for a growing number of medical conditions and disorders.
The cord blood could be particularly useful for patients who need a transplant immediately, or have been unable to find a bone marrow donor who is their genetic match. Patients who are mixed visible or ethnic minorities may find it especially difficult to find a donor matching bone marrow.
Before a stem cell transplant, doctors compare the current human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) of the patient and the donor. HLAs are proteins in the immune system of a patient, which determine how the patient may react to a graft from the potential donor.
For patients to receive bone marrow transplant, the 6 HLA types in their immune system must be genetic matches to donors. This is particularly difficult for patients to visible minorities because there are fewer potential donors will be perfect genetic matches to their immune system.
A cord blood stem cell transplantation is potentially just as effective as bone marrow. However, cord blood does not require a perfect HLA gene match, which provides more options for patients who need a quick transplant.
Cord Blood Awareness Month continues throughout July. Doctors encourage families to ask about the cord blood, and decide how to store the cord blood of their baby can potentially benefit others who are unable to find genetic donors. Medical research continues to discover new therapeutic benefits of cord blood could potentially save many lives around the world.