Your baby in the womb is made of millions of tiny stem cells, which are the building blocks of life. As the baby develops, these cells grow as the baby’s skin, nose, hair, heart, etc. At birth, a reserve of these miracle cells remains in the baby’s umbilical cord. Progressive modern medicine has established that the umbilical cord is no longer a medical waste to be discarded. If preserved at the time of birth, these stem cells may well secure your baby and family’s health in the future.

There are primarily two types of stem cells found in the umbilical cord – hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Red and white blood cells are formed by HSCs that in turn has the unique ability to treat rare blood disorders like leukemia.

Here’s a Little Background on MSCs

Dr. Alexander Friedenstein discovered the existence of MSCs in 1968 and it took another 6 years to isolate the first MSCs from the human body. 1995 saw the start of a number of clinical trials which in today’s date have reached to approximately 344 as registered investigating treatment methodologies for diabetes, spinal cord injuries, etc.

MSCs have been extracted by scientists and doctors from bone marrow, adipose tissue, fetal liver, muscle, lung, and the umbilical cord tissue. Out of these, MSCs isolated from the umbilical cord has the most significance because of the availability of highest concentrations of the stem cells that has conserved the nature of early embryonic cells. MSCs in the umbilical cord are available both in the cord blood and tissue from Wharton’s jelly which is a jellylike element inside the umbilical cord that comprises of several cells from quite a few stem cell genes.

So What Makes the MSCs as Important?

MSCs play a significant role in the development of muscle cells, bone cells, cartilage cells, and fat cells. Grabbing headlines in the domain of regenerative medicine, MSCs are important for the following reasons:

• With the ability to differentiate and multiply into limited cell types, these are naturally unspecialized cells that possess gene activation capability.
• These cells may be utilised in multiple ways during treatment and therapy due to their distinct ability to regenerate.
• Under favourable conditions, HSCs can be transformed and manipulated into various cell types even outside of a living organism.
• HSCs are able to control immune cells and operations.
• To aid in the recovery of impaired cells, HSCs secrete multiple bioactive molecules.
• They linger in the spot of inflammation after the injury of tissue in the body.

Hence, The Future of MSCs

Both HSCs and MSCs from a newborn’s umbilical cord can be collected, processed, and stored for future use.  There are no risks to you or your baby,  or ethical issues to collect them.  Today, HSCs from cord blood are being banked by an increasing number of expectant parents. Many are also banking MSCs in the hopes that clinical trials exploring their use in treating Autism, Cerebral Palsy, burns, and over 350 other diseases will lead to more medical breakthroughs. Although the research for MSCs is there, they are not yet FDA approved in the United States. However, in other parts of the world they are becoming a part of regular medical practices. It is not a matter of if MSCs will do the same in the United States but, when.

The post MSCs – Found in Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord appeared first on Stem Cell Banking Guide and Pregnancy Tips For New Parents.

As the science of stem cells took off in the 1970s when doctors realized that the stem cells found in the blood inside an umbilical cord could offer a much more secure substitute to bone marrow transplants that may find its way in the utilization of treating conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell anemia. This is so since cord blood is power packed with multipotent, self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are the forerunners to blood cells.

The process of extracting this cord blood immediately after birth and storing it in state-of-art laboratories in India and overseas for future use is now a convenient and affordable reality for many Indians, thanks to health companies like Cordlife India. In fact, Cordlife is the only private Cord Blood Bank in India to offer automated cord blood processing with Sepax2, a versatile patented Swiss technology. This advanced technology enables easy handling and safety of processing and aids in highly efficient and consistent cell recoveries.

Once the umbilical cord has been clamped from the newborn, the cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord vein attached to the placenta. Cord Blood extraction is not only a painless process for both mother and baby unlike bone marrow extraction, but there is a 60% higher chance of matching cord blood unit in the family vis-a-vis bone marrow. Cord Blood cells are mature, flexible and have more usage advantages than stem cells extracted from the bone marrow or umbilical blood.

After cord blood is extracted, Stem Cell Banks preserve the stem cells via Cryopreservation. Under various such methods of Cryopreservation, any damage to the stem cells caused by any enzymatic or chemical activities is prevented by cooling to very low temperatures, without further damage being triggered by the formation of ice during freezing.

Stored Cord Blood can now be available between days or weeks of processing for treatment. There is a low risk of complications when cord blood is applied for stem cell transplants and therapy since they have the ability to regenerate in the desired way.

Globally, an estimated 35,000 transplants have taken place where cord blood stem have been utilized to treat over eighty life-threatening ailments, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, bone marrow failures, genetic disorders, blood disorders and immune disorders. Several medical professionals are also researching cord blood as a potential cure for conditions that cannot be remedied presently. Umbilical Cord Blood banking is no more an option, but a necessity to secure a healthy future for the entire family.

For more details about – Why Banking Umbilical Cord Blood should be on your “To Do” List? – visit https://www.cordlifeindia.com

The post Why Banking Umbilical Cord Blood Should Be On Your “To Do” List? appeared first on Stem Cell Banking Guide and Pregnancy Tips For New Parents.