Treatment of cerebral palsy with cord blood stem cells
In April 2025, the American Academy of Pediatrics published data showing that umbilical cord blood therapy offers significant therapeutic benefit to children with cerebral palsy by improving gross motor skills.
Within 6–12 months of treatment, 68% of the children who received umbilical cord blood stem cells showed higher scores on the GMFM-66 scale compared to the control group. Umbilical cord blood therapy
involves the intravenous infusion of stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood for most children, while in some cases, the cells were administered intrathecally.
The children benefited from receiving either their own (autologous) cells or allogeneic cells from a donor. A trend toward a better response was observed with the use of a higher dose of stem cells—50 million cells
per kilogram of body weight. Currently, stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy using umbilical cord blood is legally available in the US only through the expanded access program at Duke University Medical Center.
The use of umbilical cord blood as a treatment for cerebral palsy offers limited commercial prospects. As the process cannot be patented, it will not attract the interest of a pharmaceutical
company that might develop it in exchange for commercial rights. Consequently, there is no corporate support to fund a Phase 3 clinical trial. This situation is described as a "discrepancy between social value
and market logic." The number of participating children is small due to limited awareness regarding the treatment and a lack of insurance coverage for it. Εvenafter FDA approval for this treatment is obtained,
challenges regarding its delivery in a hospital setting will persist, due to the limited capacity of hospitals to incorporate the treatment into their schedules. Although the study in question was limited to the use
of umbilical cord blood for cerebral palsy, its findings are significant for the clinical application of other emerging cellular and regenerative therapies
Verter F. Cord Blood Proven Effective for Cerebral Palsy. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation. Newsletter. Published 2025-04 To learn more about cord blood banking, visit Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation at https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/news/implementing-cord-blood-therapy-cerebral-palsy-us
Paton MCB, Kurtzberg J, Sun J, Reedman S, Blatch-Williams R, Fahey M, Novak I, Finch-Edmondson M. From evidence to practice: factors influencing the implementation of cord blood treatment for cerebral palsy in the United States. Stem Cells Translational Medicine. 2026; 15(8):szag074.