The History Of cord Blood Banking
The history of cord blood banking dates back to the mid-1970s. It was only then that stem cells in human cord blood were discovered. During the 1980s, it was found out that cord blood can be comparable to bone marrow in terms of transfusion.
Beginnings
The first successful cord blood transplant was made to a six-year-old boy in Paris , France who suffered from a blood disorder called Fanconi's anemia in 1988. The procedure aimed to regenerate the boy's blood and immune cells. Another successful cord blood transplant was made in 1991 to a child suffering from a type of cancer known as chronic myelogenous leukemia.
In 1992, the world's first family cord blood sample was banked at the University of Arizona . In 1995, the Cord Blood Registry opened. In the following year, it established and began its Designated Transplant Program (DTP) that provided free banking of cord blood for individuals and families with medical needs. Then in 1998, it has become the first family cord blood bank to be accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).
Development through the years
A series of successful cord blood transplant was performed during the late 1990s on both children and adult patients. The diseases that needed cord blood transplant then included chronic leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and cancer. The cord blood transplant procedure was proven effective and it cured many patients in many parts of the United States .
From 1999 to 2005, researchers and medical experts continued to cure several kinds of blood diseases, cancers, and genetic disorders with newborn cord blood stem cells. Today, the transfusion of newborn stem cells is being used to treat more than 70 kinds of diseases.
Milestone
The one important event that marked the history of cord blood banking is the enactment of the legislation mandating that birthing mothers should be given the option to donate their cord blood to a blood bank free of charge. Illinois was the first state to follow this mandate in 2004. In 2005, the number of states in the US that followed the legislation increased.
Statistics
In that same year, there were already more than 6,000 cord blood stem cell transplants performed worldwide. More than 400,000 cord blood stem cell units were banked at the Cord Blood Registry for use of over 120,000 clients including hospitals and other medical centers. It was also in this year that researchers have discovered the positive effect of cord blood for anoxic brain injury, traumatic brain injury, and cerebral palsy.
Presently, researchers and medical experts around the world continue to explore and discover strategies that will maximize the advantages of cell expansion, the process where more cord blood stem cells can be yielded, to allow more patients to be treated with cord blood transfusion.
Although it began only recently, the cord blood banking is rapidly progressing, benefiting more individuals and families suffering from various diseases.