In the past, Umbilical Cord Blood was discarded as waste material but is now known to be a useful source of blood stem cells. Cord blood has been used to treat children and adults with certain blood and hereditary disorders since 1989. Despite over 80 diseases and disorders being treated today with Umbilical Cord Blood, Medical research has not relented in the treatment of many more diseases with Stem Cell Therapy.
In the past, Stem Cells were harvested from the bone marrow to treat these diseases and disorders but improved technology and research shows that Stem Cells from the Umbilical Cord Blood are more important because:
1. It is easier to collect Stem Cells from the Umbilical Cord Blood than from the Bone Marrow.
2. Unlike the Bone Marrow, it can be stored frozen with the Umbilical Cord Blood until it is needed.
3. Unlike the Bone Marrow, there is a very low chance of immune rejection or complications such as Graft versus Host disease with Umbilical Cord Blood stem cells.
4. Unlike the Bone Marrow, there is a very high match probability with any immediate family member.
Presently, over 80 diseases are being treated with the Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy. Medical researchers and personnel worldwide agree that in the nearest future, the treatment of hundreds of diseases and disorders will be at the mercy of Stem Cell Therapy.
The future of Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy is promising. There are presently many diseases and disorders which many people believe have no cure or at least no permanent cure. This has caused many patients of such diseases and their loved ones to easily give up.
In the nearest future Stem Cell Therapy holds the panacea for the treatment of common hereditary blood disorders and Neurological disorders such as Glaucoma, Diabetes, Ischemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis and many more. Meanwhile, diseases and disorders such as Sickle Cell Anaemia, Beta Thalassemia, Acute and Chronic Leukaemia, Stroke, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Krabbe disease and a whole lot more have been successfully treated worldwide with Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy.
All it takes to protect you and your family from breaking down, now and in the future, from these unexpected diseases and disorders is to store your baby’s Umbilical Cord Blood at birth.
What are stem cells?
A stem cell is a simple cell found in the body that is able to develop into any one of various kinds of cells (such as blood cells, skin cells, etc.) Stem cells can be guided into becoming specific cells that can be used to regenerate and repair diseased or damaged tissues in people.
This is why storing your baby’s stem cells at the time of birth is a once in a lifetime opportunity to protect your family against serious illness or disease.For example, a 2-year-old girl born without a windpipe now has a new one grown from her own stem cells. You can read the miraculous story athttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/30/girl-windpipe-stem-cells/2123881/
Where could stem cells be found in the body?
In the past, stem cells were normally harvested from the bone marrow. Presently, through intensive research, the richest source of these stem cells has been found to be the umbilical cord blood. In other words, the blood that is wasted at child birth could actually save life.
How are stem cells collected at child birth?
Following the clamping of the umbilical cord after the baby must have been delivered and is being cleaned up, the needle in the cord blood bag is inserted through the venious umbilical cord attached to the mother (not the baby) and via pressure the blood flows into the cord blood bag. It is a risk free procedure for both the mother and baby; it is painless and collection procedure takes 2-3 minutes. If not collected it is a waste product at child delivery. We believe that storing your baby’s stem cells at birth can be a crucial part of curing an unexpected or genetic illness.
How Is the Cord Blood processed and stored?
As soon as the baby’s cord blood arrives at the laboratory, the red blood cells and the white blood cells are separated. The white blood cells, including the stem cells and any cells of current or future therapeutic value, are stored. This is referred to as volume reduced processing or Red cell depletion, which is the industry standard method used by leading transplant centres worldwide.
The volume reduced, the concentrated unit of cord blood stem cells is put into a dual compartment bag, over wrapped and placed into a controlled-rate freezer where the temperature is very slowly reduced to -196 degree Celsius. Once it has reached this temperature, the sample is placed into a liquid nitrogen vapour in a long term storage tank.
After the processing of the cord blood, details of the sample are given in a certificate to the owner. The details include the Cell count results, Unique ID number which come along with the collection kit, Viability percentage of the cells, Total nucleated cells, etc.
What is stem cell Transplant?
A Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplant simply means replacing diseased cells in the body with healthy new stem cells, and rebuilding an individual’s blood and immune system. The first Stem Cell transplant using stem cells from the Umbilical Cord Blood was in 1988. The patient was a little boy suffering from a serious blood disorder called Fanconi’s Anaemia, and the cord blood was obtained from his new born sister.
Over 1 million successful transplants have taken place around the world and have been used in the treatment of:
Cancer such as Acute Leukemia, Chronic Leukemia and High Risk Solid Tumors and so on.
Blood Disorders such as Sickle Cell Anemia, ApalsticAnemia, Beta-Thalassemia, Fanconi’sAnemia and so on.
Neurological Disorders such as Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury and so on.
Immune Disorders such as Severe Combined Immunodeficiency disease, Chronic Granulomatous disease and so on.
Metabolic Disorders such as Krabbe Disease, Hurler Syndrome, Sanfilippo Syndrome and so on.
More notable diseases such as Diabetes, Glaucoma, Ischemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and many more are on clinical trials and have shown great potential in treating them using stem cells.
Your unborn baby may be part of the first generation to live beyond 100. Chances are they will need stem cells to stay healthy.
Did you know that you can secure the most powerful source of stem cells available within minutes of birth by choosing cord blood banking?
Your baby’s umbilical cord is possibly the richest available source of stem cells they will ever have. With cord blood banking, you can collect these powerful cells from the umbilical cord and placenta and store them for use in stem cell therapies.
In the future, they could be used to repair your baby’s damaged tissue, regenerate old organs or even replace body parts.
Today, cord blood banking is already changing lives and there have already been more than 1 million stem cell transplants around the world since the 1980s.
Doctors and scientists believe that cord blood stem cells are one of the cornerstones of regenerative medicine. These stem cells are currently being used in thousands of clinical trials for many incurable diseases, such as cerebral palsy, autism and diabetes.
More than a decade ago, it was predicted that 1 in 3 of us will require a regenerative therapy. Today, those chances are even higher. As part of the first generation to live beyond 100 – choosing cord blood banking ensures your baby will have their own stem cells ready for use if they ever need them.
You only get one chance to bank your baby’s cord blood – in the moments after birth
Umbilical cord blood is the blood that can be collected from your baby’s umbilical cord and the placenta after they are born. Umbilical cord blood contains billions of powerful stem cells, which are already used to treat over 80 different diseases. They may even hold the key to regenerative medicine. This is why millions of parents in the UK and around the world chose to store blood from their children’s umbilical cord and placenta.
What are stem cells and what can they do?
Stem cells are powerful master cells that have two unique properties:
The ability to self-renew indefinitely
The power to divide into specialised cells
This means that when your body needs more stem cells, they can replicate to produce more specialised cells that can replace damaged ones. Your child’s body has over 200 types of specialised cells, including hair, skin, organs, brain and nervous system cells. Each of these cells will have originated from a stem cell and have just one crucial function.
For example, skin cells act as a protective barrier to the outside world while heart cells pump vital blood around their body. Red blood cells carry the precious oxygen that your child needs to function, and white blood cells form the immune system that prevents them from falling ill.
Given the right conditions and signals, your baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells can differentiate into these different cell types. As a result, they are extremely valuable in treating an increasing array of medical conditions where specialised cells are damaged and require replacing.
What makes umbilical cord blood stem cells different?
Stem cells are present in many parts of the human body. However, some sources contain richer concentrations than others. Human embryos are also excellent sources of stem cells but their use is controversial and illegal in some countries. In contrast, umbilical cord blood and tissue are collected from material that normally has no use following a child’s birth. They are the richest and purest source of stem cells that your child will ever have.
Storing umbilical cord blood stem cells therefore gives you the opportunity to safeguard your child’s & family’s health for years to come. Moreover, they can be easily and safely collected, and reliably stored for treating future health issues.
Stem cell types in cord blood
There are three main stem cell types in umbilical cord blood. These are haematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells and very small embryonic-like stem cells. Each has its own function:
Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).
These cells have the ability to transform into various blood cells, including white blood cells. Medical professionals are using this type of stem cell in many current therapies, such as cancer therapy, to repair the immune system.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
These cells have the ability to transform into a huge range of tissue types, including: nerve tissue / muscle tissue / cartilage.
As a result, these cells are considered extremely important for regenerative therapies. Early studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells play a crucial role not only in the repair and renewal of these tissue types, but also in regenerating entire organs, such as the heart.
Very Small Embryonic-Like stem cells (VSELs)
Currently, we know less about the properties of VSELs. However, it is possible that they could be the most valuable stem cell type of all. As their name suggests, VSELs share many of the features of embryonic stem cells. This means they can transform into a wider array of tissue types than most other stem cell types. As a result, the number of potential conditions that they could be used to treat is far higher.
We firmly believe that storing your baby’s Cord blood at birth is the safest and most reliable way to insure you and your family against unexpected Immune, Metabolic, Blood, Cancerous, Neurological and Hereditary disorders and illnesses.
References
Xiao-Peng Tang et al. “Differentiation of human umbilical cord blood stem cells into hepatocytes in vivo and in vitro” World J Gastronenterology 2006 Jul 7; 12(25):4014-4019 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4087712/>
Anna Hordyjewska et al. “Characteristics of hematopoietic stem cells of umbilical cord blood” Cytotechnology 2015 May; 67(3):387-396 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4371573/>
Ratajczak MZ, et al. “Umbilical cord blood-derived very small embryonic like stem cells (VSELs) as a source of pluripotent stem cells for regenerative medicine.” Pediatr Endocrinol Rev. 2012 Mar;9(3):639-43 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22523831>
Benedetta Bussolati, “Stem cells for organ repair” Organogenesis 2011 Apr-Jun; 7(2): 95 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142444/>
Levitt, Alice. “A Ghost (Heart) of a Chance” Houstonia Magazine, accessed 18 March 2019. <https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2017/1/23/texas-heart-institute-new-research-ghost-heart>
N.I. Kalinina et al. (2011) “Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Tissue Growth and Repair” Acta Nature, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3347612/>
Miao et al. (2017) “A brief review: the therapeutic potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in myocardial infarction”, Stem Cell Research & Therapy <https://stemcellres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13287-017-0697-9>
Very insightful. Thank you.
Thanks sir, we will be having a webinar on stem cell therapy soon, we hope you will be interested in attending