title: Umbilical cord blood: current status and future directions.
abstract: Once considered biological waste, umbilical cord blood (UCB) has become an accepted source of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). With initial success in the pediatric setting, UCB transplantation continues to gain favor in the adult patient population. Novel approaches to UCB transplantation include use of two units and a variety of graft manipulations. Additional uses for UCB are currently being explored and include applications in regenerative medicine and immunotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Division of Transfusion Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA. mcken020@umn.edu
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Brunstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning