Blood has long been viewed as a conduit for therapy, stemming from the
ancient days of phlebotomy to remove evil humors to the development of
successful blood transfusions to replace missing blood components. The
identification and characterization of hematopoietic stem cells by Drs.
Till and McCulloch revolutionized the field and soon after,
non-hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were characterized from the
blood and bone marrow. Some of these cell types and various
blood-derived cell lineages are involved in the repair of various types
of tissue damage that span the spectrum of medical disorders. The goal
of this book is to provide an up-to-date review of the various types of
blood-derived cells with regenerative capacity, identify opportunities
for intervention by examining specific clinical applications, and
recognize the regulatory environment that will encompass future
therapies in regenerative medicine.