Statistics on umbilical cord
transplants.

Current statistics umbilical cord transplant.

The statistics umbilical cord transplant have shown very positive results in the past few years as the technology involved in the extraction, storage and actual transplant of the umbilical cord blood. More and more importance is being placed on the procedure of blood cord transplants because of the positive results that research, tests and successful transplants are having. As the positive results produce more research and further testing, this extra funding will provide more answers and more cures to many different diseases and the success rate and recovery time will also improve.

Currently, stem cell transplants are used for people suffering from leukemia, myeloma, lymphoma, anemia and other diseases that originate from the bone marrow. Approximately 110,000 patients are diagnosed with diseases like these every year in the US alone and previously we had come to rely solely on bone marrow transplants. These diseases will regrettably kill 60,000 people this year.

Bone marrow donors are difficult to find because the procedure is both intrusive and results in a fairly long recovery time and a painful procedure. Because of these difficulties around 15,000 people who require a marrow or cord blood transplant go without the treatment they require every single year. This is obviously a worrying statistic although it is much better than it was before the introduction of cord blood transfusions.

Forms of treatment for these diseases.

There are nearly 50 different types of drug used to treat these diseases although drugs aren't always the answer. Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy and a combination of the two may be used as well as combination drugs. However, bone marrow transplants have become standard treatment for many patients since the procedure was introduced over 30 years ago. There are two types of transplant; autologous transplants use the patient's own marrow that is recovered while the patient is in remission. The marrow may be treated using chemotherapy and is then transfused when needed. An allogeneic transplant uses marrow from a donor other than the patient. This donor is usually a brother or sister to the patient because the marrow is more likely to match that of the patient. Using blunt stainless steel needles stem cells are effectively removed from the donor and transferred to the patient.

Statistics of umbilical cord blood transplant.

The first ever blood cord transplant was successfully completed in 1988 by French physicians who took the cord blood from a newborn baby and gave it to the baby's 5 year old brother who had severe anemia. The operation was a success and made physicians and researchers stand up and take notice of the long term viability of using cord blood to treat similar diseases. However, the process is still very much experimental and only 2000 individuals have so far been successfully treated using cord blood transplants.

There have only been results recorded from comparatively few test cases as yet, although one recent test showed that the immune system of three young children were perfectly normal two years after the transfusion took place. For now though, insurance companies are still skeptical and generally unwilling to cover the cost of storing cord blood. This means that for the meantime, the procedure will be reserved for patients who can afford the pay for the storage themselves.

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