Cord blood banking for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: an international cord blood transplant registry.

Human umbilical cord blood contains enough hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation instead of marrow cells to cure children and adults with leukemia and other potentially fatal marrow disorders. An international cord blood transplantation registry is currently collecting information about the results of these transplants. As a result of relative immune deficiency at birth, it is likely that partially matched unrelated transplants can be successful; for this purpose an international cord blood banking project is described.