What are Cord Blood and Bone Marrow Transplants?
Both bone marrow and cord blood stem cell transplants are designed to replace unhealthy cells with healthy ones; the most common sources of these healthy cells are bone marrow and umbilical cord blood. Cord blood is blood that is collected from an infant’s umbilical cord after delivery, so that it may be tested, frozen, and subsequently stored in a cord blood bank for future use. A bone marrow transplant, on the other hand, involves the use of bone marrow that is transplanted from a donor into the recipient in order to cultivate new stem cells. The marrow itself is a spongy tissue located inside the bones. Most commonly, marrow is extracted from either the breastbone, skull, hips, ribs or spine, as these contain stem cells which produce the following types of blood cells: white blood cells (leukocytes), which fight against infection; red blood cells (erythrocytes), which carry oxygen in order to eliminate waste from the organs and tissue; and platelets, which are responsible for making
