Saving the leftovers: models for banking cord blood stem cells

Each year there are over four million live births in the United States. Each birth produces umbilical cord blood stem cells, which are usually discarded. The author argues that rather than discarding the umbilical cord, this valuable resource of cord blood should be banked and used for research and therapeutic purposes. Umbilical cord blood could provide a solution to the critical need to find matching donors for hematopoietic transplants in patients who have no matching bone marrow donors. Creating a system of universal donation to a public bank will greatlyincrease the number of donors and therefore, the number of matches for patients. Such a system will facilitate the development and use of new technologies and transplant procedures, while providing an opportunity for treatment to individuals who would otherwise not be able to find suitable donors.