Why save baby cord blood? What are its benefits? Is it worth the
money? Blood present in the baby’s umbilical cord contains stem cells. Multipotent
adult stem cells present in the umbilical cord blood make it a precious
resource in the medical and research field. And that is why baby’s cord blood,
which was once discarded as medical waste, is now collected and saved for long
term storage. The first human transplant using cord stem cells was performed in
1988. It was for treating Fanconi anemia – an inherited disease that mainly
affects the bone marrow. Cord blood that was used to treat only one disease at
that time can now treat nearly 80 diseases.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)
present in the baby cord blood can be used to restore the damaged blood cells
in our body. Developed from mesodermal hemangioblast cells, HSCs are
self-renewing progenitor cells that has the potential to generate multitude of
cell types found in the blood stream including red blood cells, white blood
cells and megakaryocytes. Hematologic and nonhematologic cancers, autoimmune
disorders, various forms of anemia and immunodeficiency disorders can be
treated with the cord blood Hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs). Why
cord blood stem cell transplants are gaining wide acceptance in the medical
community? Cord blood stem cell transplants require a less-stringent HLA match
and carry a lower risk of graft-vs-host disease. Moreover, the transplant
outcomes are more effective and better with cord blood applications when
compared to other transplant methods.
Stem cells are not only present
in the cord blood, but also in the surrounding tissue. Umbilical cord tissue is a rich source of
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This type of multipotent connective tissue cells
can develop into a variety of cell types such as bone cells, cartilage cells,
muscle cells and fat cells. Many scientists are striving harder to discover the
cord tissue benefits and
applications. Currently research and clinical trials are going on to better
understand the potential of cord tissue. According to the scientists, cord
tissue MSCs can be used to treat Liver fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease, Rheumatoid
arthritis and lung cancer to name a few.
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