Delayed Umbilical Cord Blood Clamping: First Line of Defense Against Neonatal and Age-Related Disorders.

Abstract

The aging body is unable to maintain homeostasis in cell genesis and function. Stem cell-based regenerative medicine may reverse aging and treat age-related disorders. This perspective article discusses the therapeutic effects of stem cell transplantation on neonatal diseases, which may have long-lasting benefits affecting even the aging process. In particular, the article highlights the potential of the earliest transfer of stem cells between a mother and fetus via the umbilical cord during child birth and how this process may modify the clinical practice of umbilical cord clamping. While such umbilical cord clamping is routinely performed in an expeditious manner after birth for stem cell banking, the present article advances the concept that a delay in clamping the umbilical cord may actually allow more stem cells to be delivered from the mother to the fetus. The authors' overarching hypothesis is that early umbilical cord clamping results in an artificial loss of stem cells at birth and increases the infant's susceptibility to both neonatal and age-related diseases, while delaying umbilical cord clamping is perhaps the most effective and non-invasive way to transplant stem cells in order to treat these diseases.