Sign in 
Cord blood transplants are ground-breaking procedures that help to save and change the lives of thousands of patients around the world who are suffering from a wide range of blood diseases. While the technology has been around for over a decade, there is still much that researchers do not know about the benefits of cord blood banking.
Currently, there are more than 70 different diseases that are treatable by cord blood transplants. However, researchers believe that there are dozens more uses for banked and donated cord blood units. As such, many clinical trials are taking place to test these theories and determine which diseases can be treated with cord blood technology.
At the moment, there are trials to test cord blood for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy. There are also preclinical trials being conducted for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease and cardiac disease.
In order to conduct these clinical trials, a great deal of funding is needed. It becomes important for all levels of government to invest in stem cell research and development. As such, the federal government must contribute to stem cell research through government grants that make it possible for researchers to test the effectiveness of cord blood in treating diseases like cerebral palsy and diabetes.
In countries such as the United States and England, their governments have contributed a greal deal of money to stem cell research. Millions of government dollars have been spent on funding research for cord blood banking.
In Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation has provided funds through the Ontario Research Fund-Research Excellence. The government is also contributing funds to the establishment of a national public cord blood bank. The presence of a National Bank will raise awareness of umbilical cord blood benefits and we hope that this will lead to more clinical trials.