The first autologous cord blood transplant (using an experimental protocol),was done successfully in Europe in 2001 for treatment of an 10 months old infant suffering from a cancer of the eye retinoblastoma, while in January 2007 was announced the first autologous cord blood transplant to treat pediatric leukemia.

Cord blood, which until a few years ago was considered as a biological waste, it proved to be a biological wealth, even if for the moment most protocols are experimental.

The rapid progress seen in the field offers new solutions to develop effective drugs and leads to the application of innovative therapies even for diseases that until now consider incurable.

So our responsibility is to ensure that scientific knowledge is not made subject of misinformation or uncontrolled exploitation but the future of innovative therapies with respect for human life and contribution to science.

Ron Winslow (2009). "First Embryonic Stem-Cell Trial Gets Approval from the FDA". The Wall Street Journal 23 January 2009
Wu DC, Boyd AS, Wood KJ (2007). "Embryonic stem cell transplantation: potential applicability in cell replacement therapy and regenerative medicine". Front Biosci 12: 4525–35. doi:10.2741/2407. PMID 17485394
Ariff Bongso & Eng Hin Lee; forewords by Sydney Brenner & Philip Yeo. (2005). Stem Cells: From Benchtop to Bedside. World Scientific. ISBN 981-256-126-9
Hayani et al, (2007). First report of autologous cord blood transplantation in the treatment of a child with leukemia. Pediatrics. 119:296-300