Singapore Cord Blood Bank services, but retain ownership over the use of their cord blood. Cord blood is the blood that circulates through the umbilical cord from the foetus to the placenta. After delivery, the placenta is almost always thrown away. Yet this humble umbilical cord has become a life saving and precious commodity, because cord blood is rich in blood stem cells. Blood stem cells are young or immature cells that can transform into other forms of essential blood cell types (pluripotent), such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The use of blood stem cells has emerged as a potentially
Umbilical cord also found in a study from 2008. Although there is higher hemoglobin level at 2 months, this effect did not persist beyond 6 months of age. Not clamping the cord for three minutes following the birth of a baby improved outcomes at four years of age. A delay of three minutes or more in umbilical cord clamping after birth reduce the prevalence of anemia in infants. Negative effects of delayed cord clamping include an increased risk of polycythemia. Still, this condition appeared to be benign in studies. Infants whose cord clamping occurred later than 60 seconds after birth had a