Editorial

Abstract

Umbilical cord blood is now considered an acceptable alternative to the use of bone marrow as a source for
hematopoietic stem cells for pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and is being investigated in adults.
Major advantages of umbilical cord blood include the speed of availability compared with unrelated donor bone
marrow, and tolerance of 1-2 human leukocyte antigen mismatch, which offers the opportunity to extend the donor pool. Therefore, umbilical cord blood transplantation is associated with durable engraftment and low incidence of severe graft-versus-host disease.