Stem cells are the mother of all cells which can be induced to become cells with special functions, such as heart muscle cells, blood cells, nerve cells etc and they are capable of renewing themselves for long periods.

In fact the discovery of stem cell has been awarded as ‘the discovery of the century’ by the reputed “Science” magazine.

Major sources of stem cells:

• Umbilical cord and cord blood (collected during delivery)
• Bone marrow
• Embryonic stem cells

• Cord blood banking is a once in a lifetime opportunity to collect the stem cells for banking during the baby’s birth.
  
  
• The need to “Bank” these stem cells collected from the cord blood and cord is necessary for any future application.
  
  
• Since finding a stem cell sample from a donor (allogeneic) involves HLA typing and matching which is very difficult, (the probability of finding a match is one in 25000) it is better to cryopreserve your child’s umbilical cord and cord blood stem cells which are very good sources of stem cells and do not need HLA matching (for child’s own use) as it is “Autologous” source.
  
  
• Cord blood collection takes about 2-3 minutes and is a very simple and a painless procedure for both the mother and the child.