Blood stem cells, present in the bone marrow are the precursors to all blood cells. And they are currently the only type of stem cells commonly used for therapy. Doctors have been transferring blood stem cells by bone marrow transplant for more than 40 years and are now used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several inherited blood disorders.

Researchers in Australia have used stem cells to treat a patient with cardiac disease and they were successful to produce colonies of white and red blood cells. Also in Germany and for the 1st time in the whole world they are successful to establish a company to reserve and store the umbilical cord to be used in need for treatment.  On 2001 an American child has been treated from neuroblastoma using the stem cells produced by the umbilical cord blood, the child are healthy at the time being and completely cured from her illness. 

Accordingly, Stem cells have potential uses in many different areas of research and medicine

• Replace damaged tissue
  Stem cells could be used in the generation of cells and tissues for treating patients transplanting specialized cells that have been grown from stem cells in the laboratory.
  Stem cells have the ability to replace damaged cells in the body so they can be used to treat some diseases as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart failure, and spinal injuries.

• Study Human Development
  Stem cells could be used to study early events in human development and the mechanism of cells differentiation which may help the researchers to explore why some cells become cancerous and how genetic diseases develop.

• Testing of New Drugs
  Stem cells could be a useful tool for testing drugs and chemicals before they are trialed in people by directing these stem cells to differentiate into the cell types that are important for screening the drug. It has been proposed these cells may be more likely to mimic the response of human tissue to the drug being tested, compared to the animal’s models currently being used. This testing may make drug testing cheaper and safer.

• Screening Toxins
  Stem cells could be useful tool for screening potential toxins in substances like pesticides before they are used in the environment.

• Testing Gene Therapy Methods
  Stem cells may be used during the development and creating new methods for gene therapy that could help people suffering from genetic disorders. Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease. A number of adult stem cell therapies already exist, particularly bone marrow transplants that are used to treat leukemia.