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Written by Dr Jeff Drew, Cells4Life
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More than 11,000 parents in the UK have paid to freeze stem cells from
the umbilical cords of their newborn babies, as they believe that in
years to come, it could help save their child’s life.
In 1988 the first successful cord blood stem cell transplant was carried out on a 5 year old boy with Fanconi’s Anaemia. He was given a 0% chance of survival without a cord blood stem cell transplantation. After the transplantation he made a full recovery and he is alive and well today. Since that date, the number of cord blood transplants have increased to over 6000.
What are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are regarded as the ‘building blocks’ or master cells of the blood and immune system. They are very clever and can develop into any type of cell within the body.
They can be seen as a sort of repair system for the body, where a stem cell (or progenitor cell) has the potential to become a new type of cell with a more specialised function, such as a heart muscle cell to repair damaged heart muscle.
Over the past 17 years stem cells have helped treat many life-threatening illnesses by ‘repairing’ the damaged parts of the body. There have been many reports and investigations which highlight the success of cord blood transplantation in the treatment of a broad range of disorders, including immune deficiencies, bone marrow problems and many inherited diseases.
Stem Cell Research
In addition to the standard medical treatments where cord blood stem cells are routinely used, ongoing research is continuously focused in finding new uses for stem cells. For example, Researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the Institute of Child Health (ICH) have found encouraging evidence that blood-borne stem cells can be used to make lung cells in the body.
Stem cell research is advancing our knowledge about how the human body develops from a single cell. New ways are being discovered in which stem cells harvested from blood in the umbilical cord can be used to replace and repair damaged cells with healthy new ones.
Abiding by stem cell research ethics, responsible scientists are currently researching the use of stem cell therapies to cure various forms of cancer, Parkinson’s and childhood diabetes among other diseases.
How do you store your baby’s Stem Cells?
Cells4Life will send out a sterile collection kit by courier to the expectant parents ready for the day of the birth. After the delivery, and once mum and baby are both safe and well, the midwife or another healthcare professional, uses the kit to collect a blood sample from the baby’s umbilical cord; this blood is extremely rich in stem cells. The blood sample is sent to our laboratory where the baby’s stem cells are frozen and stored.
NHS critics
There is much controversy over storing stem cells between NHS critics and members of the private cord blood banks. Some hospitals have a complete ban on the collection of stem cells from the umbilical cord after the birth whereas others are open to the idea and much more accommodating.
Those against commercial collection argue that the future for cord stem cells is still unknown and they have reservations about the future effectiveness that the private companies predict. Some midwives are not happy to collect the blood from the umbilical cord following the delivery; they feel that it is a non-priority task and would prefer not to do it.
Professor Pete Braude, Chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ scientific advisory committee states that the chance of a child needing their own stem cells is today as little as one in 20,000. However, future scientific developments could mean that stem cells may be used in everyday medicine – and to many this is the all-important factor.
Transplants from cord blood stem cells are already saving lives and demand from parents is on the increase. Looking to the future, every day exciting discoveries are announced about the potential of stem cells to treat a variety of diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, diabetes and various cancers. The government has already funded a lot of this research and announced in the 2005 Budget a £2.5 billion investment over the next 10 years.
For more information please visit: www.cells4life.com
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