Cord Tissue Banking

You may already have an understanding of what cord blood is and how it could help your baby, a sibling, or a family member in the event they need a stem cell transplant. Cord tissue offers different types of cells than those in cord blood. Here’s what you need to know about cord tissue and why you should consider banking it along with your baby’s cord blood.

What Is Cord Tissue?

Cord tissue is the tissue found in the umbilical cord. Scientists have found that your baby’s umbilical cord is an exceptional source of valuable stem cells.

Umbilical cord tissue stem cells are vastly different from cord blood stem cells, but equally important. They can potentially be used to treat different types of diseases and conditions within the body.

What Are Cord Tissue Stem Cells?

Cord tissue stem cells are found in the perivascular regions of the umbilical cord and in the Wharton’s Jelly — the spongy, gelatinous tissue that surrounds and protects the vessels of the umbilical cord from compression in utero.

While cord blood is processed to save the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), cord tissue is rich in different kinds of cells, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

MSCs are multipotent stem cells prized for their potential in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and gene therapy because they can differentiate into many different types of tissue, including organ tissue, connective tissue, bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and nerves.

These cells were first identified 30 years ago, and today, there are more than 55,000 publications discussing their therapeutic potential.¹

In addition, there are more than 2,300 clinical studies initiated exploring new therapies with MSCs, and close to 10,000 patients have received treatments in these trials.^1,2,3

The anti-inflammatory and immune-modulation properties of MSCs have been the greatest focus of clinical trials, but the field of regenerative medicine continues to unlock new potential for tissue repair and renewal.

The ability of MSCs to migrate to injured sites (including the brain) in response to certain signaling pathways, and promote tissue regeneration, has encouraged their use in clinical trials for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, ALS, liver disease, chronic wound healing, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiac ischemia, diabetes type 2, and even to tackle lung damage from Covid-19.^4,9

What Is Cord Tissue Banking?

Cord tissue banking is the process of safely collecting, processing, and storing your baby’s umbilical cord tissue for potential use in the treatment of future diseases or conditions.

Cord tissue is collected after the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut so there is no risk or pain to mother or baby.

After your baby’s cord tissue is processed, those valuable stem cells are stored in a private cord blood bank. Saving cord tissue from the umbilical cord along with cord blood in a private cord blood bank ensures these cells are available to you and your family for treatments in the future.

What Are the Benefits of Cord Tissue Banking?

Mesenchymal stem cells from cord tissue represent the most advanced, cutting-edge discoveries in regenerative medicine today.

The use of cord tissue stem cells has the potential to make regenerative medicine a life-saving reality. This is something that conventional medicine and pharmaceutical therapy have not been able to effectively achieve.

There are many benefits to banking cord tissue stem cells, including:

• More treatment potential: Cord tissue stem cells are at the forefront of regenerative medicine due to their immune modulation and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as their ability to differentiate into a wide array of cell types. The ways they are used today in clinical trials are just the beginning of what is likely to be an explosion of new therapies.
• Stem cell transplants: The ability of cord tissue stem cells to suppress the body’s immune response has prompted doctors to transplant them in unison with cord blood stem cells to significantly reduce the effects of transplant rejection or Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). Researchers have reported quicker cell engraftment and improved transplant outcomes by using cord tissue stem cells along with cord blood stem cells.^5,6
• Enhanced compatibility: MSCs do not require the same level of HLA matching as cord blood stem cells, increasing their potential for use by family members.⁷
• Access: Public banks do not store cord tissue. If you want to save these stem cells to benefit your child or a family member, you will need to bank them privately.

Who Can Use Your Baby's Cord Tissue?

Your baby and other family members, such as siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents of your baby may be able to use the stem cells.

While doctors require closely HLA-matched stem cells for HSC transplants from cord blood, research shows that cord tissue stem cells may be transplantable among individuals who are only partially matched or not HLA matched.⁷

Cord tissue stem cells may be used in tandem with HSCs for stem cell transplants, before, in tandem with, or after a cord blood transplant.

Researchers have combined MSCs with HSCs in allogeneic transplants to modulate the post-transplant immune system response in patients, to reduce both acute and chronic GVHD in such patients.⁸

How Is Cord Tissue Collected?

Cord tissue is collected immediately after the cord blood collection, in a simple and painless procedure for both mother and baby. Once the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut, the cord blood remaining in the umbilical cord is collected. Then, a section of the cord tissue is trimmed and collected with the medical supplies provided in the MiracleCord StemCare® collection kit.

What Is the Difference Between Cord Blood and Cord Tissue?

The difference between umbilical cord blood and cord tissue lies in the different types of stem cells that are found in each, and the role each type of cell plays in regenerative medicine and self-healing. Cord blood and cord tissue are used to treat different types of conditions.

Cord blood contains HSCs (hematopoietic stem cells) that are used in more than 80 standard treatments for blood and immune system disorders, cancers, and metabolic diseases.

Cord tissue contains MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) used in regenerative medicine and promote healing, immune system modulation, and have anti-inflammatory properties.

MSCs’ have the ability to fulfill many regenerative roles within the body and poses promise in the future treatment of many types of diseases.

Cord blood and cord tissue can also be used together in stem cell transplants to enhance engraftment and mitigate the risk of Graft-vs-Host Disease.

Cord Tissue Banking with MiracleCord

MiracleCord makes cord blood and tissue banking affordable and easy. Our advanced technology and personal customer service have earned us Best U.S. Cord Blood Bank for the last four years from Global Health & Pharma, an independent ratings organization.

Additionally, banking with MiracleCord offers you:

• Advanced processing. MiracleCord uses an advanced method to process the cord tissue before it is stored, which greatly improves viability and cell recovery rates.
• Cell viability: Our temperature-stabilized StemCare® thermal collection kit and TimeCritical® Processing help ensure your baby’s cord tissue samples will be viable for processing when they reach the lab.
• Medical courier: We employ a medical courier that is available 24/7/365 to pick up your collection kit and transport it in a temperature-controlled environment to ensure cell viability — at no additional cost to you. We also process the stem cells in less than half the time of most of our competitors to maximize cell yield.
• Affordability: MiracleCord provides the highest quality cord blood and cord tissue banking services at affordable prices. Compare our pricing and services to CBR and ViaCord to see how we offer the best value for cord blood and cord tissue banking.
• No hidden fees. We don’t market to doctors or offer them incentives to recommend us. While you may not see those fees stated specifically by our competitors, those costs are inevitably passed on to their customers.
• Prorated refund. If you paid for a 20-year or Lifetime storage plan but need to use all of your child’s stem cells before the end of the term, MiracleCord will issue a refund to you on a pro-rata basis for the unused years of storage.

1. Nature.com. Retrieved October 29, 2024. Mesenchymal stem cell perspective: cell biology to clinical progress. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41536-019-0083-6
2. ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrieved February 10, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?term=cord%20tissue
3. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Retrieved October 29, 2024. Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Cancer Therapy. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00043/full
4. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Retrieved October 29, 2024. Can Stem Cells Beat COVID-19: Advancing Stem Cells and Extracellular Vesicles Toward Mainstream Medicine for Lung Injuries Associated With SARS-CoV-2 Infections. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00554/full
5. National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved October 29, 2024. How mesenchymal stem cell cotransplantation with hematopoietic stem cells can improve engraftment in animal models. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9453272/
6. Nature.com. Retrieved October 29, 2024. The potential use of mesenchymal stem cells in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. https://www.nature.com/articles/emm20132
7. ScienceDirect. Retrieved October 29, 2024. HLA expression and immunologic propertiesof differentiated and undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301472X03001103
8. THE LANCET. Retrieved October 29, 2024. Treatment of severe acute graft-versus-host disease with third party haploidentical mesenchymal stem cells. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(04)16104-7/abstract
9. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation. Retrieved February 10, 2025. Diseases that can be Treated with Cord Blood. https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/diseases