The Saint Louis Cord Blood Bank, in cooperation with community medical professionals and donor families, provides a worldwide resource for recipients in need of stem cell transplants.

Facts About The St. Louis Cord Blood Bank at Cardinal Glennon: The St. Louis Cord Blood Bank is unique to the region and the second-largest such facility in the world. The Blood Bank has provided more than 720 cord blood products for stem cell transplant since its inception in 1996. Cord blood is contained within the placenta and umbilical cord. It can be donated easily and painlessly after birth, with no risk to mother or baby. Cord blood is more capable of being a suitable match, and is a cleaner product for transplant. Cord blood can be accessed more quickly and less expensively than the traditional bone marrow donation.

These products are used to treat malignant bone marrow diseases like leukemia and lymphoma, congenital disorders like Fanconi's anemia, Wiskott Aldrich syndrome and Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (the boy in the bubble syndrome), and non-malignant diseases such as Severe Aplastic Anemia, thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. By collecting cord blood from donors of different ethnic backgrounds, a larger number of patients will benefit.

More than 70 percent of children and adults requiring a bone marrow transplant do not have an immune matched sibling. Of those, 50 percent will be able to find a matched unrelated donor through national bone marrow registries, but the search time can take up to four months and is extremely expensive. Because cord blood stem cells are typed, frozen and stored at the Saint Louis Cord Blood Bank, they are ready for use when the patient needs them.

Although umbilical cord blood is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, the volume collected is small compared with either bone marrow or PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell). For this reason, the use of cord blood was previously restricted to use in children. But new studies are showing that these cell dose limitations can be overcome and have expanded the use of cord blood stem cells into adults.

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and the placenta that is normally discarded after the baby is born. Because it is collected after the birth of a healthy baby, there is no harm or risk to either the mother or the baby. Considered a source of adult stem cells, the use of these cells from cord blood eliminates the ethical concerns surrounding more controversial sources of stem cells.

Meet a Patient:

• Amelia's Triumphant Story