Stem cell transplants have become significant in modern-day medicine. There are three known sources of stem cells and these are the following: bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and embryonic cells. Stem cells that come from bone marrows have been established to have limited uses. On the other hand, stem cells from embryonic cells have been plagued with a lot of controversies. Among the sources, it is the stem cells from umbilical cord blood that have proliferated for various medical treatments and further research. The umbilical cord blood is also known as placenta blood. This is the blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta right after a live birth.
Stem cell transplants have become significant in modern-day medicine. There are three known sources of stem cells and these are the following: bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, and embryonic cells. Stem cells that come from bone marrows have been established to have limited uses. On the other hand, stem cells from embryonic cells have been plagued with a lot of controversies. Among the sources, it is the stem cells from umbilical cord blood that have proliferated for various medical treatments and further research. The umbilical cord blood is also known as placenta blood. This is the blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta right after a live birth.
Umbilical cord blood is the most used compared to the other sources of stem cells because of several reasons. First reason is that it’s easy to collect cord blood and it won’t pose any risk to the health of the mother and her child. With the help of cord blood banking, the stem cells can be frozen for use in the immediate future. Bone marrow won’t allow this since it takes a long time to look for a match and donor.
Stem cells that are from umbilical cord blood are young and not too mature. That enables them to be easily transplanted even if it’s only a half match while with bone marrow transplant it requires a perfect match between the recipient and the donor.
There’s also less possibility for cord blood stem cells to attack the recipient’s tissues unlike the bone marrow cells. Umbilical cord blood also has lower tendencies to transmit viruses when used in the transplant. Cord blood has also been found to have the potential of being developed into other cell types like blood, nerve, and muscle cells. Cord blood stem cells have been seen to help regenerate one’s immune system and play a vital role in replacing damaged cells. Today, cord blood stem cells are recognized to treat blood diseases, certain cancers, and also auto-immune illnesses.
With the given fact that umbilical cord stem cells can help repair damaged cells, they are now considered as possible treatment for Parkinson’s, stroke, spinal cord injury, heart ailments, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.
Since cord blood has multiple life-saving uses, it is equally important to make sure of its collection and storage. Before storage, there are two steps that precede it which are collection and processing.
Collection involves two methods which vary according to the period cord blood is collected. The first method is called the ex utero. This entails putting the placenta inside the sterile supporting structure. Here the cut off umbilical cord is injected using a syringe to drain the blood cells to a bag. In utero, on the other hand, is that process done once the placenta is delivered or around 5 to 10 minutes before it is delivered. It’s the same procedure as the ex utero except for the time the placenta is extracted.
As for collection, there are two ways to store cold blood stem cells. It can be stored in public or private banks.
Website: http://guidetocordblood.com
Media Contact Info:
Joby Thampan
[email protected]
http://guidetocordblood.com
