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Collecting Cord Blood Stem Cells: Method

September 30, 2009 By admin

Collecting Cord Blood Stem Cells: Method

Stem cells are called progenitor cells i.e. cells whose division and differentiation help in formation of the mature adult cells. A broad classification includes stem cells of embryonic and adult types. Embryonic stem cells, as the name suggests, are present in a growing embryo; whereas adult stem cells are found in the bone marrow. Adult stem cells can also be found in the placenta and the blood found in the umbilical cord at the time of child birth.Collecting Cord Blood Stem Cells

As stem cell use has been successful in treating conditions including many cancers that were considered untreatable by other methods, there are scientific attempts to retain the stem cells viable for use in therapy.

Stem cells can be derived from the bone marrow but it has limited use because these stem cells are usually affected by the disorder from which the person is suffering. The alternative of obtaining the placenta and collecting cord blood stem cells can be done only when the child is born so many parents are resorting to preservation of stem cells at blood banks to facilitate future use if necessary.

Once the cord blood bank is identified and all initial procedures and paperwork is complete, the cord blood bank ships the client a cord blood collection kit, which the client brings with them at the time of delivery.  Drawing of the mother’s blood prior to the delivery and collection of the cord blood stem cells is done by the team performing the delivery of the child.

The entire process of collecting the cord blood stem cells and placenta is very simple and takes just 5 minutes. This process involves obtaining the cord blood through a vein in the umbilical cord called the umbilical vein.

Cord blood banks have specialized kits prepared for collecting the cord blood stem cells and the placenta. The bag for collecting the cord blood is connected through a needle inserted into the umbilical vein. As the bag is lowered, gravity allows the flow of blood into the bag. A minimum of around 75ml of cord blood is necessary for obtaining good quantity of active stem cells that can be used. If blood flow into the bag arrests before the entire umbilical cord is emptied or before a minimal quantity is obtained, the needle is removed and reinserted into the umbilical vein to obtain the desired quantity.

It is important to take precautions in avoiding contamination of the collected blood. After collecting the cord blood stem cells and the placenta, the medical staff uses specialized containers to transport the cord blood to the cord blood bank where it is again disinfected, processed and after addition of a cryopreservative, cooled slowly to reach a temperature of around -190 degrees, and be stored until such time as it is needed for any therapy, either for the child or for any other family members suffering from a disorder that can be treated with the collected stem cells.

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The Benefits of Cord Blood Banking

September 28, 2009 By admin

The Benefits of Cord Blood Banking

The joy of parenthood can never be equaled. That’s why parents go the distance to give their children better lives, excellent education and most importantly, enhanced security in terms of health.

Cord Blood Banking can provide that security. It gives parents that sense of protection and peace of mind that somehow, in cases when cord blood is needed to save the life of their children or even their own, it is readily available.cord_blood_banking_benefits

Cord blood is the blood in the umbilical cord, which at present, is being preserved cryogenically from birth, when authorized by parents of a newly born child. It contains stem cells, which can be used for transplantation similar to a bone marrow transplant.

Stem cells are sometimes referred to as the chief cells because they are the ones responsible for creating new tissues and in the organs of a human body.

The stem cells found in cord blood, known as haemopoietic stem cells (HSC) are the foundation of human blood, which contains the immune system of the body. These stem cells naturally replicate into:

• red blood cells
• white blood cells
• platelets

The human body generates these specialized cells through the stem cells and balances them according to a person’s body needs. In some cases of abnormality, one of these cells may be too much or too little for a body to function effectively. That is why there is a need for blood transfusion in certain diseases or in severe accidents because the human body cannot naturally generate the needed cells.

Stem cells can also be found in bone marrow and in the peripheral blood — the blood circulating inside an adult human. These stem cells’ ability to generate or differentiate into the needed cells is not as efficient as the ability of the stem cells found in the cord blood.

This is the reason why cord blood banking came into existence. Before the establishment of cord blood banks, the umbilical cord and the placenta of a newly born were just discarded.

Cord blood banking attracted attention in the late 80’s, when in 1988, the stem cells found in cord blood, saved a boy’s life through stem cell transplantation. At present, nearly 10,000 stem cell transplantations have been done in the US alone.

Although a reported 2% of transplantations fail, statistics show that 98% succeed.  Failures often are attributed to the condition of GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease) whereby the introduced stem cells are “rejected” by the host body.

Moreover, proteins found in the human body known, as Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) can also cause such failure. HLA determine the compatibility of donor’s tissue with that of the patient. However, these are rare cases.

Thus, cord blood banking facilitates for the convenience of having a ready supply of cord blood. Whether it is a public, private non-profit or a commercial cord blood bank, they all have the same goal, to provide a steady supply of cord blood to people who are in dire need of this precious discovery of humankind.

As the number of people, especially parents are now aware how valuable cord blood is, the cost and expenses that they may entail for its storage in a cord blood bank is so small a price to pay for the opportunity of saving the life of a loved one.

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What you Need to Know About Cord Blood Banking

September 15, 2009 By admin

What you Need to Know About Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood is a main source of stem cells. Bone marrow is also a good source of stem cells and bone marrow transplants have become increasingly useful for treatment in stem cell related problems. Need To Know Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood is blood that is in the umbilical cord after the baby is born and it contains stem cells used to save people’s lives. The umbilical cord blood is processed and stored in a cord blood bank for any future transplant of stem cells.

The cord blood is tested first before being cryopreserved at the cord blood bank. It has to meet specific requirements of the blood bank to be acceptable. If the umbilical cord blood meets the eligibility requirements, it is then stored in a special bag and cryopreserved at the the cord blood bank.

Cord blood banks can provide public storage or private storage. The public cord blood banks use their stored cord blood to donate to hospitals and doctors. Donors are matched with cord blood according to the medical history of the family.

Extracting the cord blood from the umbilical cord is not painful to either the mother or the baby. The cord blood is taken after the umbilical cord is cut, and it is important to use this valuable tissue rather than throw it away. This same cord blood helps cure deadly diseases like cancer, leukemia, brain tumors, plasma cell disorders, renal cell carcinoma, phagocyte disorders, histiocytic disorders, congenital immune system disorders and other stem cell disorders.

Saving the cord blood from the baby’s umbilical cord can also help to save your own family because no one knows what will happen in the future. The umbilical cord blood is a perfect match to your baby and up to twenty five percent for all siblings.

If your plan is to keep the cord blood for your child, you must research the requirements of what is needed to privately bank your stem cells. You also need to know how the cord blood is stored. Make sure that the blood bank is associated with the American Association of Blood Banks. Checking on the financial outlook of the blood bank you select is also important as this says a lot about whether your cord blood will be safe or not.

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Stem Cell Preservation 101

September 11, 2009 By admin

Stem Cell Preservation 101

Stem cells are precursor cells which mean they are primary cells that can differentiate to form mature or adult cells of different types. In humans, there are two types of stem cells:

• Embryonic stem cells- are found in an embryo and later differentiate into different forms of tissues as the embryo develops.
• Adult stem cells- are found in adult tissue which differentiate and help in replacing dead cells in the body.

The stem cells, because they have the capacity of forming new cells, are used in treating many diseases, some of which had no cure in earlier times. In today’s world, as many as 70 different diseases can be treated by the help of stem cells. Some of the diseases that can be treated with stem cells include many cancers, blood disorders, metabolic disorders, stem cell disorders, etc.Stem Cell Preservation 101

Sometimes the use of embryonic stem cells is widely opposed when it involves the destruction of the embryo. For these reasons, adult stem cells are the ones that are utilized in treating various conditions. Adult stem cells can be obtained from bone marrow or from cord blood (the blood that is found in the umbilical cord just after the delivery of the child) and from the placenta. These stem cells can not only be used to treat conditions that arise in the child but can also be used to treat some conditions that occur in other siblings, parents, other relatives and in some cases even unrelated people.

Cord blood and the placenta contain stem cells that are similar to stem cells found in bone marrow. Obtaining the cord blood and placenta is a one time opportunity that can be collected only at the time of delivery of a child and can be processed and preserved by keeping them in liquid nitrogen.

Stem cell preservation has to be planned much prior to delivery of the child. There are many cell banks that have been established to undertake this process and store and preserve the cells such that they are viable and useful for therapy, if the need arises at a later point of time.

Once a cord blood bank has been chosen for stem cell preservation, all the formalities for collection at birth should be completed beforehand. Just before delivery, two test tubes of blood are drawn from the mother and sent for testing for any communicable diseases. At the time of delivery, the doctor extracts the cord blood (around 75-100ml) and the placenta and sends the cord blood to the cord blood bank in special collection bags designed for this purpose.

Once the cord blood and the placenta reach the cell bank, it is disinfected, processed and a cryopreservative is added. Some cord blood banks utilize a method of separating the red blood cells in the cord blood while some don’t.

Once these processes are complete, the stem cells are tested for their viability by performing tests. The stem cell preservation is then begun by slow cooling first to around -90 degrees and then placed in liquid nitrogen where the temperature is maintained at -190 degrees Celsius. The viability of the cells will be lost if they are cooled too rapidly.

This is the method in which stem cell preservation is conducted, and preserved stem cells can be later taken if needed for therapy at any point in time. This process even though costly at this time is insurance that can store stem cells to fall back on if the need for future therapy arises.

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