Test Your Cord Blood KnowledgeHere are the ANSWERS to our pop quiz from the home page.
How did you do? Question 1: Cord blood is collected in the majority of births. TRUE or FALSE?The answer is FALSE. Cord blood is thrown away as medical waste in more than 97% of births. In some countries, this number is closer to 99.9%!
Question 2: Currently, how many diseases can be treated with cord blood?The answer is 80+ diseases. Since the first cord blood transplant was performed in the 1980's by Dr. Eliane Gluckman, doctors around the world have begun using cord blood to treat over 80 different diseases including many blood cancers. Today, stem cell treatments via a cord blood transplant are becoming more and more common for patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell anemia. In these cases, it is usually necessary to have cord blood from a healthy donor--often a stranger. However, there are certain illnesses that require the patient's own cord blood for treatment. Each case is different and only the patient's doctor can advise if a cord blood transplant is right for them.
In addition, to the 80+ diseases currently treated with cord blood the emerging field of regenerative medicine is finding new uses and applications for this natural medical resource. Scientists are exploring the possibility of using a child's own cord blood stem cells to potentially treat cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, type 1 diabetes, acquired hearing loss, autism . . . |
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Meet a few of our friends
(who received a cord blood transplant)
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