The findings indicate that umbilical cord blood transplants, which have been used in the treatment of childhood leukemia and severe thalassemia, may have broader applications. Chen Sheng-hsien, director of CMMC's department of obstetrics and gynecology, said researchers at the medical center have used mice to test the effectiveness of umbilical cord blood transplants in treating paralysis, a common post stroke symptom, and it was found that a transplant helped improve the mice's conditions.

Researchers have also launched experiments on the use of umbilical cord blood transplants in the treatment of dementia, Chen said.

Meanwhile, the experiments on the use of umbilical cord blood in treating diabetes have entered human trials, he said.

In the experiments, stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood were cultured and separated to produce insulin-producing cells, before the cells were transplanted to diabetes patients, he said.

According to Chen, umbilical cord blood transplants may also be used to improve chronic allograft rejection in patients who have undergone organ transplants, so as to prolong the life of the transplanted organs.