Cord Blood ResearchScientists became aware of the potential of the stem cells found in cord blood very recently. In fact cord blood research gained pace only in the late 1980s when the first cord blood transplant was performed on a six-year-old French boy who had a blood disorder called Fanconi's anemia. In 1968, scientists were able to successfully treat a condition called SCID (Severe Combined Immuno deficiency) through a bone marrow transplant. It was only after this event that the medical community woke up to the immense potential of stem cells. In the 1970s stem cell research accelerated and scientists discovered hematopoietic stem cells in human cord blood. Since then researchers have directed their efforts at trying to utilize stem cells found in cord blood to treat hitherto incurable diseases. Since stem cells from cord blood are principally cells that transform into blood and immune system cells, much of the research effort has been directed at disorders of the blood cells and immune cells. Consequently scientists have learnt that cord blood cells have the potential to cure and treat diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and even certain types of cancers. Stem cells per se have a lot of ethical issues swirling around them. In order to obtain sufficient amount of stem cells, researchers have to sacrifice embryos, which is ethically frowned upon in most countries. However cord blood does have plenty of stem cells that can easily be used for research purposes without harming either the baby or the mother. There was great news for the research community in 2005 when scientists at Kingston University, UK discovered a third category of stem cell, called the cord-blood-derived embryonic-like stem cells (CBEs), derived from umbilical cord blood. This meant that cells from the cord blood are able to differentiate into multiple types of tissues unlike adult stem cells, which already have a template as to which cell/tissue they can be converted into. Cord blood research was given a further fillip in the following year when umbilical cord blood stem cells were used to create the first ever artificial liver cells by researchers at the Newcastle University in England.
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