[from facebook friend and research scientist Rhonda Patrick PhD]…..I’m super excited that I got my cord blood and placenta banking kit in today! Most people are familiar with banking cord blood, a source of hematopoietic stem cells which can form any blood cell type but are limited to blood cells. The placenta is not only a better source of hematopoietic stem cells because it contains 5-7 times more than cord blood, it also is a rich source of pluripotent stem cells, which are a variety of stem cells that can form cells of any other tissue type including neurons. My friend and former colleague, Dr. Frans Kuypers discovered that the human placenta was a source of pluripotent stem cells back in 2009… and yet the placenta is usually thrown away after delivery. Taking into consideration the fact that there are around 4 million live births in the United States per year alone, you’re talking about a lot of thrown away precious stem cells!