Reference
Glossary, in plain English.
Every term we use in our guides, defined without the jargon.
- AABB
- American Association of Blood Banks — a major accrediting body for cord blood banks.
- Allogeneic transplant
- A transplant using stem cells from a donor other than the patient — often a sibling or matched unrelated donor.
- Apheresis
- A medical procedure that separates one component of blood (e.g., plasma or stem cells) and returns the rest to the donor.
- Autologous donation
- Storing or donating your own cells or blood for your own future use.
- Cord blood
- Blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Rich in hematopoietic stem cells.
- Cord tissue
- The umbilical cord tissue itself, including Wharton's jelly, which contains mesenchymal stem cells.
- Cryopreservation
- The process of cooling cells or tissue to ultra-low temperatures (around −196 °C) to halt biological activity for long-term storage.
- Delayed cord clamping
- Waiting 30 seconds or more after birth before clamping the umbilical cord, allowing more blood to flow to the baby.
- DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide)
- A cryoprotectant added to cells before freezing to prevent ice-crystal damage.
- FACT
- Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy — an independent accrediting body for cellular therapy programs.
- FDA
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — regulates cord blood banks under cGMP and cGTP standards.
- Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)
- A complication of allogeneic transplants where donor immune cells attack the recipient's tissues.
- Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC)
- Stem cells that give rise to all types of blood and immune cells. The primary therapeutic cell type in cord blood.
- HLA typing
- Testing human leukocyte antigens to determine tissue compatibility between donor and recipient.
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)
- Stem cells found in cord tissue, bone marrow, and other tissues; can differentiate into bone, cartilage, fat, and connective tissue.
- Private cord blood bank
- A bank that stores cord blood exclusively for the donating family, for a fee.
- Public cord blood bank
- A bank that accepts donated cord blood and adds it to a registry available to any patient in need.
- Total nucleated cell (TNC) count
- A measurement of cell quantity in a cord blood sample; a key indicator of sample quality.
- Wharton's jelly
- The gelatinous substance inside the umbilical cord, rich in mesenchymal stem cells.