| The umbilical cord – more than just blood: Umbilical cord blood is a source of hematopoietic stem cells mainly, where mesenchymal stem cells are abundant in small amounts only. The cord itself, however, is a very rich source of mesenchymal stem cells. The relative new approach of regenerative medicine makes use of the body’s own natural resources, i.e. mesenchymal stem cells, for replacing or repairing damaged or lost tissue.
One source – enormous potential: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are found in many tissues and organs of the human body and are versatile. Those originating from the umbilical cord are particularly interesting, because they are easier to grow compared with mesenchymal stem cells from other origins. They are even more adaptable when it comes to developing into different specialized cells. In the laboratory, mesenchymal stem cells derived from the umbilical cord can be turned into a variety of tissues such as cartilage, bone, fat, as well as muscle, nerve or liver. This capability makes them extremely suited for use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, where cells are allowed to develop into new tissues outside the body. In the future, scientists believe these will have an important role to play in the clinic. Numerous clinical trials with MSC are being performed across the world at the moment.
Just like umbilical cord blood, the umbilical cord itself is easily accessible and harmless to harvest at the time of birth. The success rate of collecting MSC from the cord tissue is close to 100 percent. Given the huge potential of mesenchymal cells from the umbilical cord, Cryo-Save also offers a combined umbilical cord tissue and umbilical cord blood cryopreservation and storage service (called CryoCord).
Getting there – but still some way to go: Research has come quite far in testing the use of mesenchymal stem cells for patients who have experienced a heart attack. As a result of a heart attack, heart muscle tissue is destroyed and the heart pumping capacity is reduced (sometimes severely). | | When mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow were injected into patients with a damaged heart, the capacity of the heart increased and patients experienced remarkable improvements. However, it is now believed that umbilical cord-derived MSC will provide even greater improvements. Similar results are hoped for in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In these diseases, MSC might replace and take on the function of the damaged neurons in the brain. However, this research is still in the early stages.
The spectrum of potential applications of mesenchymal stem cells is incredibly broad and ranges from repair of bone and cartilage to cancer gene therapy, liver diseases, brain regeneration and kidney repair. It should be stated clearly, however, that although some applications seem to be just a glimpse away, others have a long way to go.
Our procedure – for your safety: In preparation for storage, the umbilical cord is first cleaned. After adding a special freezing agent, the parts of the umbilical cord are stored in two sections at physically separated locations, similar to the stem cells from blood.
For the purposes of security and to assure that your child’s stem cells are assigned individually, they will be identified using unique bar codes. You will receive a corresponding certificate approximately six weeks following birth. This ensures that they will be quickly available when necessary. We will store the stem cells for 20 years. After that time, your child may decide by themselves whether to continue or terminate storage. |
