Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood-red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. Hematopoietic stem cells can be obtained from 90-110ml of the blood from the umbilical cord, and umbilical cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after a baby is born and the cord is cut. Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood-red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. In fact, this blood as well as the cord and the placenta have been treated as clinical wastes and discarded until recently. However, it has been confirmed as a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, and the first transplant was performed in 1988. As a result, this valuable source of stem cells is no longer considered as a clinical waste, and fortunately the extraction does not affect the delivery in any way and is safe for both the baby and the mother.


Extracted Cord Blood is brought to the Catholic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank where a series of tests are conducted including a blood volume, HLA typing, infection test, hereditary disorder test and contamination test. Cord Blood adequate for the transplantation is kept frozen.

In fact, Cord Blood donated and stored can be a big hope for children in need of a donation and used for future research and education.

The use of cord blood transplants has grown for both children and adults. Cord blood is used more often for children because the unit has a limited amount of blood-forming cells. Smaller patients need fewer cells, and larger patients need more cells. Because some cord blood units may not have enough cells for larger patients, they are sometimes transplanted using two or more cord blood units combined.
Hematopoietic stem cells in the Cord Blood play an important role in various diseases such as curing blood dyscrasia, immune disorders and cancer. They are used to treat acute myelocyte leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelocytic leukemia(CLL), panmyelophthisis, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma, malignant lymphoma, all sorts of solid cancer and hereditary metabolic diseases. If much research is done in the future, it can be developed to use for the treatment of damaged brain cartilages and hearts as well.