Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Transplant
In umbilical cord stem cell transplant, stem cells are collected from umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells. This procedure uses partially matched unrelated stem cells from the donor’s umbilical cord. Umbilical cord blood collections for donor transplants are stored frozen in public cord blood banks, making the transplant easy to schedule
Who Can Receive this Treatment?
About one-fourth of the people who need an allogenic transplant to treat their cancer have a match and can receive donated stem cells. All the others need to find another donor to receive a transplant. An umbilical cord stem cell transplant can be used for patients who do not have a fully matched available donor.
How it Works
Umbilical cord blood cells are very good at fighting cancer. It can help prevent a person’s cancer from returning after a transplant.