Clinical utilization of cord blood over human health: experience of stem cell transplantation and cell therapy using cord blood in Korea

Cord blood (CB) has been used as an important and ethical source for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) as well as cell therapy by manufacturing mesenchymal stem cell, induced pleuripotential stem cell or just isolating mononuclear cell from CB. Recently, the application of cell-based therapy using CB has expanded its clinical utility, particularly, by using autologous CB in children with refractory diseases. For these purposes, CB has been stored worldwide since mid-1990. In this review, I would like to briefly present the historical development of clinical uses of CB in the fields of SCT and cell therapy, particularly to review the experiences in Korea. Furthermore, I would touch the recent banking status of CB.