Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders such as cancer.
[11] Adverse effects are similar to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, namely graft-versus-host disease if the cord blood is from a genetically different person, and the risk of severe infection while the immune system is reconstituted.
[11] To assure that the smallest amount of complications occur during transplantation, levels of engraftment must be present; specifically both neutrophils and platelets must be being produced.
[13] This process of neutrophil and platelet production after the transplant, however, takes much longer than that of stem cells.
For example, it is still unknown how long cord blood can safely be frozen without losing its beneficial effects.
[13] There is a lower incidence with cord blood compared with traditional HSCT, despite less stringent HLA match requirements.
[22][23] The AABB has generated voluntary accreditation standards for cord blood banking facilities.
and "private storage of cord blood as 'biological insurance' is unwise" unless there is a family member with a current or potential need to undergo a stem cell transplantation.
[27][28] The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes that the odds of using a person's own cord blood is 1 in 200,000 while the Institute of Medicine says that only 14 such procedures have ever been performed.
[29] Private storage of one's own cord blood is unlawful in Italy and France, and it is also discouraged in some other European countries.
The American Medical Association states "Private banking should be considered in the unusual circumstance when there exists a family predisposition to a condition in which umbilical cord stem cells are therapeutically indicated.
However, because of its cost, limited likelihood of use, and inaccessibility to others, private banking should not be recommended to low-risk families.
[31][27][28][32] The World Marrow Donor Association and European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies states "The possibility of using one's own cord blood stem cells for regenerative medicine is currently purely hypothetical....It is therefore highly hypothetical that cord blood cells kept for autologous use will be of any value in the future" and "the legitimacy of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they sell a service which has presently no real use regarding therapeutic options.
[36] The EGE concluded that "[t]he legitimacy of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they sell a service, which has presently, no real use regarding therapeutic options.
[45] Some clinical studies show that one year after the transplant of UM171 (a haematopoietic stem cell self-renewal agonist), transplant-related mortality was 5% and relapse incidence was at 21%.