Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation

By Dr.Sally Zeinatie
Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...
Newborn infants no longer need their umbilical cords, so they have traditionally been discarded as a by-product of the birth process. In recent years, however, the multipotent-stem-cell-rich blood found in the umbilical cord has proven useful in treating the same types of health problems as those treated using bone marrow stem cells. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

In the 1970s medical researchers discovered that human umbilical cord blood contained the same kind of stem cells found in bone marrow.
In 1988, doctors transplanted human umbilical cord blood into a 5-year old boy suffering from Fanconi's anemia. Ten years after the transplant, the boy is alive and seems to be cured of his disease. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Stem cells got their name from their ability to develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Stem cells are any of the cells in the body that can grow into other kinds of cells. Blood stem cells are one of several types of stem cell. Healthy blood stem cells are vital because they replace our supply of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

The cells used in blood stem cell transplants come from three main sources: bone marrow, peripheral (or circulating) blood, and the umbilical cord of newborn babies. In the case of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells, an adult donor donates the cells. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are COLLECTED when a baby is born and are stored for future use. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Months before the baby's birth, the mother signs an agreement to donate the umbilical cord blood when the baby is born. At birth, the cord blood unit is collected and taken to a cord blood bank, where it is tissue-typed, processed and stored frozen until needed for a transplant. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

At the time of collection have yet to find their path and can therefore be treated to become any type of cell needed. It is possible to extract the cells from adults but this is a more invasive process and the stem cells are more differentiated compared to the pluripotent umbilical cord stem cells. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Basically, there is no guarantee of finding the correct type. The cells collected however have the potential to treat almost any illness imaginable. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

After the cells are collected they are processed and stored. There, the blood is separated into its component parts and under strictly controlled sterile conditions(slowly frozen to 180C). Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

The cells are treated with compounds to allow them to withstand the freezing procedure. They can then be stored at a temperature below minus 180C for up to 25 years. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

With illnesses such as thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia,stem cell collection has become a popular choice for many expectant parents within the area. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

If a child is born with thalassemia we cannot use their stem cells, however we can use the stem cells from siblings umbilical cord, provided pre-natal testing show the baby to be free of the illness.

As well as diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and thallasemia, stem cells, collected from the umbilical cord have the potential to cure illnesses such as leukaemia, Hodgkin's disease and many heart-related disorders.
Recently a 35-year-old father was cured of leukaemia with the use of his new-born daughter's umbilical cord stem cells. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Many doctors believe that we are little more than five years away from being able to treat and cure a range of illnesses such as cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's to name a few. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

The object of this is to preserve these cells for possible future use, should the baby contract an illness for which stem cells would effect a cure.
The beauty of this procedure is that it is completely natural and we make use of something that is usually thrown away at birth. There is no interference with the birthing process and the blood is drawn after the baby is born and the umbilical cord has been severed. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

UCB contains sufficient numbers of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells for engraftment in most recipients weighing < 50 kilograms.
UCB collection poses no risk to the mother or infant donor.
UCB banking eliminates the risk of donor attrition (i.e., donor is not available at the time needed) inherent in marrow donor registries.
UCB is rarely contaminated by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus.
UCB can cause severe GVHD although possibly less frequently than bone marrow.
UCB transplantation may produce less acute GVHD than marrow transplantation at least in the sibling transplant situation.
UCB banking shortens the interval between search initiation and donor cell acquisition, as compared to marrow collection.

Whether UCB can engraft and restore hematopoiesis in most adults (although there is now a growing experience to suggest that it will in a significant proportion),
Whether UCB transplantation is associated with a different relapse risk than unrelated donor marrow transplantation. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Whether targeted UCB collection will reduce the shortage of racial and ethnic minority donors and thereby increase the numbers of transplants for patients in these groups. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Certainly, in light of this, when one considers the amount of umbilical cords that are discarded every day as hospital waste, it seems ridiculous that scientists continue to unnecessarily search for stem cells from human embryos, especially with all the legal and moral issues involved. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Also, it may be that certain unique types of cells exist only in umbilical cord blood with, as yet, unexplored value in treating disease. With the invention of new techniques for using these cells and the apparently suitable nature of umbilical cord blood stem cells for use in gene therapy. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...

Umbilical cord blood may become the most valuable source of stem cells. Indeed, umbilical cord blood may be just what an individual may need, at some point in the future, to have a fighting chance of surviving a serious disease. Umbilical Stem Cell Transplantation...