Home 15 Fascinating Facts About Stem Cells (And Why Cord Blood Is So Special)

15 Fascinating Facts About Stem Cells (And Why Cord Blood Is So Special)

21.11.2025

7 mins of reading

Find out more about why stem cells and cord blood are so incredible!

Stem cells are often described as the “building blocks” of the human body, and for lots of very good reasons. These remarkable cells have the power to become many different types of cells, from red blood cells to brain cells, and they play a huge role in regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy, and the future of new treatments for diseases.

But one type in particular stands out for parents-to-be: the stem cells found in umbilical cord blood.

Whether you’re new to the world of stem cell research or you’re curious about what actually makes cord blood so valuable, here are 15 fascinating facts about these tiny cells that can save lives:

1. Stem cells are “unspecialised”, until the body tells them what to become

Stem cells start life as undifferentiated cells, meaning they haven’t yet chosen a job to do. With the right signals, they can develop into specific cell types like immune cells, heart muscle cells, or neural cells.

This makes the use of stem cells incredibly powerful in medicine and research.

You can find out more about what stem cells are here.

2. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells

That sounds like a complicated phrase, but hematopoietic stem cells (or haematopoietic, depending on where you are in the world!) are simply a type of stem cell that are found in bone marrow or umbilical cord blood. These are the kind of stem cells used in life-saving treatments today.

These blood-forming stem cells create:

red blood cells
white blood cells
platelets
new blood cells that support the immune system

They are already used in stem cell transplants for conditions such as blood cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, aplastic anaemia, and sickle cell disease.

You can find out more about our successful stem cell transplants here.

3. There are several different types of stem cells

The field of stem cells is very broad. You might have heard of a few different types:

adult stem cells (found throughout the body)
embryonic stem cells (pluripotent cells found in the inner cell mass of early embryos)
induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) (adult cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic ones)
multipotent or tissue-specific stem cells

Cord blood contains multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (also known as HSCs), which are already widely used in medicine today.

Cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells (also known as MSCs), which are useful in tissue regeneration as well as treating inflammatory diseases. There is currently a huge amount of research into the potential of MSCs, which can also be found in bone marrow cells.

If you want to know more about the difference between cord blood and cord tissue, including which storage option might be right for you, take a look at the information linked.

4. Cord blood stem cells are collected painlessly at birth

Parents often assume the process is invasive, but collecting umbilical cord blood is completely safe for both mother and baby. The cord is clamped as usual (you can even have delayed cord clamping with cord blood collection!), and the blood that would ordinarily be discarded as medical waste is collected instead to be processed and potentially used to treat medical conditions in the future.

You can find out more about the stem cell collection process here.

5. Cord blood stem cells are already used to treat more than 80 conditions

From blood disorders and immune system conditions to certain metabolic diseases, cord blood is one of the most commonly used sources of stem cells in clinical medicine today. It’s incredible that there are more than 80 conditions that can already be treated using stem cells that have come from umbilical cord blood, and the research is very promising for more conditions to be treated in future.

Find out more about the conditions cord blood stem cells can treat here.

6. They can replace unhealthy cells with healthy ones

Because they naturally produce new cells through controlled cell division, they can replenish damaged or unhealthy cells in the body. This is why stem cells are used in treating diseases like leukaemia and lymphoma.

7. Cord blood stem cells aren’t the same as embryonic stem cells

This is a very common misconception.

Cord blood stem cells come from the umbilical cord, not from embryos, and therefore do not involve the use of embryonic stem cells or any ethical concerns around human embryos.

8. Cord blood stays young forever

Once stored, your baby’s stem cells don’t age. They remain in the same condition they were in at birth, ready for potential stem cell therapies or future medical research.

At Smart Cells, we safely store your cord blood sample for 25 years, but there is also research that shows that cord blood units are still stable and viable up to 29 years after being cryopreserved. We expect to see this number increase in the years to come as more samples are stored for even longer.

9. They are a perfect match for your baby and may match siblings

Because cord blood contains your baby’s own genetic material, it is always a 100% match for them.

Siblings have a higher chance of being a match than with bone marrow donors. Other family members may also be able to use your baby’s stored cord blood stem cells too!

10. Stem cells are leading the way in regenerative medicine

Researchers are exploring stem cell applications for:

heart disease and heart failure
Parkinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease
spinal cord injury and spinal cord injuries
rheumatoid arthritis
severe burns
and more

While these are still in clinical trials, cord blood and cord tissue stem cells are often part of early-stage medical research.

If you’re interested in knowing more about stem cells and regenerative medicine, take a look at this article we wrote earlier this year.

11. The first cord blood transplant was performed in 1988

Since then, tens of thousands of transplants have taken place around the world, and the field has grown rapidly. It’s such a promising field of health!

12. Cord blood is rich in immune-system-building cells

The stem cells found in cord blood help form the body’s white blood cells, which fight infection and rebuild immunity. This is an important part of recovery after bone marrow transplantation or treatment for blood cancers.

13. Cord tissue contains different stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells)

Cord blood is not the only option you have to collect your baby’s stem cells. We can also collect cord tissue too which contains a different type of stem cell: mesenchymal. This gives you more options to protect your child’s future health.

14. New discoveries are happening all the time

Researchers continue uncovering how stem cells might help treat different diseases and symptoms in the future.

It’s a fast-moving field, which is why storing at birth gives your family access to future cell-based therapies that might not even exist yet. It’s incredible to think about the many opportunities that we don’t even know about yet!

15. Cord blood is already helping families today

But stem cells are not just a thing of the future, there are families all over the world who are receiving life-transforming treatments now.

Smart Cells have released samples for real children with conditions like thalassaemia, leukaemia, and immune system disorders.

Sharing real examples helps families understand the true value of banking stem cells, so you can find out more about Smart Cells’ real life transplants here.