Cord blood is the stem cell-rich blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta immediately after the baby is born. These stem cells are hematopoietic, or blood forming, and are the building blocks of our blood and the foundation of our immune system.
Cord tissue refers to the actual umbilical cord that connects mom and baby during pregnancy. Your baby’s umbilical cord tissue, called Wharton’s Jelly is an abundant source of valuable stem cells that are different from the stem cells found in cord blood. Cord blood stem cells are hematopoietic, meaning they evolve into blood cells. The cord tissue stem cells are called mesenchymal or MSCs, and have shown the ability in studies to evolve into tissue cells.