Among blood preparations, serum has been topically used in the management of various ocular diseases in ophthalmology. Like peripheral blood serum, umbilical cord blood serum contains a high concentration of essential tear components,
growth factors,
neurotrophic factors,
vitamin A,
fibronectin,
prealbumin, and oil. Umbilical cord serum can provide basic nutrients for epithelial renewal and can facilitate the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of the ocular surface epithelium.
Eye drops made from umbilical cord serum have been applied to treat various ocular surface diseases, including severe
dry eye with or without Sjögren's syndrome, ocular complications in
graft-versus-host disease, persistent epithelial defects, neurotrophic keratopathy, recurrent corneal erosions, ocular
chemical burn, and surface problems after corneal
refractive surgery. Because mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be used to regenerate corneal tissue and
retinal nerve cells, umbilical cord serum might be applied for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in the future.