Why should both umbilical cord tissue and cord blood be stored?
In **1991**, scientists discovered that umbilical cord tissue itself is a rich source of different types of stem cells. These cells possess many special functions that address the needs of regenerative medicine. The body's ability to regenerate tissues through its own stem cells is limited and further decreases with age. A large number of stem cells collected from umbilical cord tissue have the ability to regenerate and differentiate into various cell types; therefore, they can potentially be used alone to treat many diseases. New studies also show that regenerative medicine becomes more effective with a combination of different types of stem cells. In some clinical trials, umbilical cord tissue stem cells have been used to complement the effect of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the same transplant. With the increasing potential applications of stem cells and other cells from umbilical cord tissue, the process of umbilical cord tissue storage is now commonplace globally, and over **60%** of clients at cord blood banks worldwide prefer to store both their baby's cord blood and cord tissue. Furthermore, by storing both cord blood and cord tissue, the child's access to two different types of stem cells will be guaranteed in the future.