Science and medicine place a lot of hope in the development of stem cell research and regenerative medicine. This review will define the concept of regenerative medicine and focus on an abundant stem cell source – neonatal tissues such as the umbilical cord. Umbilical cord blood has been used clinically for over 20 years as a cell source for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Beyond this, cord blood and umbilical cord‐derived stem cells have demonstrated potential for pluripotent lineage differentiation (liver, pancreatic, neural tissues and more) and . This promising research has opened up a new era for utilization of neonatal stem cells, now used beyond haematology in clinical trials for autoimmune disorders, cerebral palsy or type I diabetes.
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