Umbilical cord blood (UCB), placenta-derived, and other extraembryonic tissue, previously seen as medical waste, is increasingly recognized as a prized source of cells for therapeutic use. The best-known application is in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), where UCB has become an increasingly important graft source in the last 3 decades since umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) was implemented. Recently UCB, placenta, and extraembryonic derived cells and tissues also have been more and more investigated as an acknowledged source regarding adoptive cell therapy.

The nonhematopoietic cell types in UCB, placenta-derived, and extraembryonic cells and tissues include several ones that can be used therapeutically and are readily expanded to sufficient numbers using established methods. The most notable ones of these are mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and endothelial-like vascular progenitors (EPCs). To complicate this further MSCs from different sources of the placenta seem to have very different properties.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Strategies to use lymphocytes from placenta, CB, and extraembryonic tissues for adoptive cell therapy
• Strategies to use placenta derived MSCs for adoptive cell therapy
• Different properties of MSCs from various placenta tissues, CB, and extraembryonic tissue
• Placenta derived tissue and cells in today and future medicine