Umbilical cord blood has power to save life

Sep 29, 2014 Ruchira Dhoke Lifestyle & Health 0

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The Discovery that the blood in the newborn baby’s umbilical cord has power to save lives have illuminated revolution in medicine. The cord blood has abundance of stem cells and its medical has wide plethora. Collecting and cryopreserving the cord blood also known as umbilical cord blood banking is no longer a luxury but an investment for the future of your children’s health.

 

IN THE WOMB

While the fetus growing inside the womb, it requires nourishment and oxygen. These essential substances are passed from a mother’s blood to the fetus’ blood through the placenta via the umbilical cord. The blood that remains in the umbilical cord after the baby is born represents a new and the richest source of stem cells which is the origin of the body’s immune & blood system also called as the CORD BLOOD, which is unique to the baby and its family.

STEM CELLS

The Stem cells often referred to as the body’s “master cells” are the building blocks of organ tissue, blood, and the immune system. Stem cells from bone marrow were first used to regenerate blood and immune cells for patients who had received chemotherapy for cancer. In the late 1980s, doctors started using stem cells from cord blood to treat diseases that had previously been treated with bone marrow transplantation.

The first successful cord blood transplant took place in France in 1988, for a child with Fanconi’s Anemia, a rare congenital anemia Since then, approximately two-thirds of the cord blood transplants performed have been for malignant conditions, while the remainders have been done for a variety of genetic blood disorders.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a source of premature haemopoietic stem cells (HSC) and progenitor cells which has a tremendous capacity to differentiate into another type of cell.

This precious thing is usually discarded. But it can be easily and safely collected, cryopreserved and stored in a cord blood bank.

UCB banks are being established in many countries of the world. Two models of cord blood banking systems are available—one is Family or private banking where UCB is stored for the benefit of the donor or their family and another is non-profitable public banking where UCB is stored for research purpose and for allogeneic unrelated transplantation. About seventy diseases can be treated with UCB transplantation. But, there are many debates regarding cord blood transplantation and legal and ethical issues cause to concern. However, UCB has become an established alternative to bone marrow transplantation in children and young adults.

The Cord Blood May Be used in Two Areas of Medicine

Transplant Medicine: Cord blood is used to regenerate a healthy blood and immune system after chemotherapy. Cord blood has been used to treat many life-threatening diseases, such as cancers and blood disorders.

Regenerative Medicine: Cord blood is being researched today to determine if stem cells can induce healing or regenerate cells to repair damaged tissues. This exciting new area of research has led to clinical trials using cord blood in experimental therapies for patients with cerebral palsy, brain injury, and hearing loss.

How is cord blood collected and banked? 

Cord blood collection will not cause any harm or pain to either the mother or the baby. Blood is drawn from the umbilical cord after the baby is delivered and the cord is clamped and cut. The stem cells in cord blood remain viable for a couple of days at room temperature, providing sufficient time for the blood to be shipped to a laboratory in another city or state. At the laboratory the cells are processed and cryogenically frozen. Once frozen, stem cells remain viable for decades. 

How may cord blood stem cells be used in the future?

Medical research is developing new therapies where stem cells help the body to repair itself, called regenerative medicine. So far, these therapies require the patient’s own stem cells, not those from a donor. Children who have their own cord blood in storage may have more medical options later in life. Currently clinical trials for Cerebral Palsy and Type 1 Diabetes are being conducted using a child’s own cord blood.

Cord blood stem cells are saving lives today and have been used for more than 20 years to treat a wide range of life-threatening diseases, including leukemia, other cancers, and blood disorders. By saving it, you may help protectthe health of the child or other familymembers. Aprocess known as cord blood banking allows you to save this valuable resource for potential future medical uses for our own family.

Cord blood banking is a unique opportunity to store the precious building blocks of the human body; ready to provide the foundation for more than 70 treatments of blood, related diseases and future applications in regenerative medicine.

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• cord blood banking, haemopoietic stem cells, regenerative medicine, stem cells, Umbilical cord

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