Diseases Treated with Cord Blood

Many people are surprised to learn all the different diseases cord blood cells can treat. Cord blood treatment is already used for blood, autoimmune and metabolic disorders as well as several types of cancer.

When doctors administer cord blood therapy, stem cells are injected into the bloodstream, where they naturally move towards damaged areas. While it’s up to your family and personal physicians to determine when a stem cell transplant is necessary, the following list contains every possible treatment available to families with stored cord blood. Researchers discover new therapies every year, so this list is constantly expanding.

Current cord blood treatments, displayed below, are split into four sections:

Cancers
Blood Disorders
Metabolic Disorders
Immune Disorders

Cancers

Leukemia, lymphoma and several other cancer types are treated with cord blood stem cells. Cancer is a deadly condition for many patients, and often causes weight loss, fatigue and constant pain. The following types of cancer are treated with a cord blood transplant:

Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia
Adult T Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma
Chronic Active Epstein Barr
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Ewing Sarcoma
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
Myeloid/Natural Killer Cell Precursor Acute Leukemia
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Prolymphocytic Leukemia
Plasma Cell Leukemia
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia
Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency
Multiple Myeloma
Neuroblastoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Thymoma
Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia
Wilms Tumor

Blood Disorders

Blood disorders, including multiple types of anemia, are treated with cord blood stem cells. These conditions are caused by an imbalance in the body’s cellular structure, and lead to swelling, blood clots and excessive bleeding, which can be deadly. Cord blood therapy is available for patients with the following blood disorders:

Acute Myelofibrosis
Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia
Amyloidosis
Aplastic Anemia
Beta Thalassemia Major
Blackfan-Diamond Anemia
Congenital Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia
Congenital Cytopenia
Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia
Dyskeratosis Congenita
Essential Thrombocythemia
Fanconi Anemia
Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria
Polycythemia Vera
Pure Red Cell Aplasia
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts
Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transition
Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts
Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
Sickle Cell Anemia

Metabolic disorders

Metabolic disorders, including Hurler syndrome and Krabbe disease, often lead to seizures, weight loss and frequent body pain. In some cases these diseases can be extremely dangerous. Cord blood therapy is available for patients with the following conditions:

Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria
Gaucher Disease
Hunter Syndrome
Hurler Syndrome
Krabbe Disease
Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome
Mannosidosis
Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
Mucolipidosis II
Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
Niemann-Pick Disease
Sandhoff Disease
Sanfilippo Syndrome
Scheie Syndrome
Sly Syndrome
Tay Sachs
Wolman Disease
X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy

Immune Disorders

Immune disorders, like Evans syndrome and Myelokathexis, will cause the body to attack its own cells. This often results in fatigue and constant fevers. In certain cases, an immune disorder can be deadly. Cord blood therapy is available for patients with the following immune conditions:

Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency
Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
Chronic Granulomatous Disease
Congenital Neutropenia
DiGeorge Syndrome
Evans Syndrome
Fucosidosis
Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
Hemophagocytosis Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis
IKK Gamma Deficiency
Immune Dysregulation Syndrome
Kostmann Syndrome
Myelokathexis
Omenn Syndrome
Phosphorylase Deficiency
Purine Nucleoside
Reticular Dysgenesis
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Diseases
Thymic Dysplasia
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
X-linked Agammaglobulinemia
X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder
X-Linked Hyper IgM Syndrome

In 2007, cord blood was used as a therapy for over 40 diseases. Since then, the list of treatments has more than doubled, and researchers continue adding new therapies. Clinical trials are currently testing cord blood as a treatment for other serious conditions, including:

In total, there are over 30 diseases under clinical research for cord blood. All of these trials are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If researchers are successful, new stem cell therapies may become available, and families with stored cord blood will have access to additional treatments for dangerous autoimmune, heart and neurological disorders.

Private, or family, banks store your child’s cord blood, so you have access to stem cells in the future. Parents currently researching cord blood can find more information about private banks here.