PUBS is a procedure where the doctor removes blood from the baby’s umbilical cord with a needle in order to examine the baby’s blood for anomalies. Once the needle is in the baby’s cord, the doctor can remove blood for testing as well as administer medicine or blood to the baby directly. The benefit of PUBS as opposed to Amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) is that the genetic information (karyotype) is available much sooner after the procedure. Also, PUBS can be used to both diagnose and treat some disorders such as anemia. The PUBS technique is used in procedures such as IUT (see below) but can also be used for testing and treatment of other conditions. PUBS is used to find chromosomal abnormalities, blood disorders such as anemia and hemophilia, infections in the baby’s blood, growth retardation, some birth defects as well as some metabolic disorders.