Cord blood Cord blood Cord blood (umbilical cord blood) is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders. Cord blood is composed of all the elements found in whole blood - red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, platelets. Compared to whole blood some differences in the blood composition exist, for example, cord blood contains higher numbers of natural killer cells, lower absolute number of T-cells and a higher proportion of immature T-cells. However, the interest in
Percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling preexisting defects and abnormalities. While ultrasounds and color flow mapping can be used to avoid the umbilical artery and sample from the umbilical vein, the dilation makes the single umbilical artery easier to puncture. Blood flow in the umbilical artery is seen to be twice the normal amount from about 20 weeks on so the effects of a punctured umbilical artery during PUBS are more severe. Percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling "For other uses see PUBS ( page)" Percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling (PUBS), also called cordocentesis, fetal blood sampling, or umbilical vein sampling is a diagnostic genetic test that