The list of diseases treatable with cord blood stem cells continues to grow.  From humble beginnings, in the 1980's, when only one patient had been treated and only one disease was proven to be treatable, to today, where seventy-six diseases are now treatable and nearly 6000 families have been helped, cord blood stem cells are a modern day miracle for many people.  Listed below are the diseases for which cord blood stem cells are known to be useful.  In time, we hope and expect to add many more diseases to this list including:  autism, breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, burns, etc.  Your baby's cord blood stem cells are not only useful for your baby, but also for close genetic relatives, such as the baby's siblings. In fact, for some diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, only cord blood from a close relative or genetically matched donor would be considered acceptable, since it would be pointless to give a child with this disease his/her own cord blood as treatment. This is one of the reasons why it is important to store the cord blood for each of your children. As of now, the leading use of cord blood is for a child's sibling.