Umbilical Cord Stem Cells
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells
The umbilical cord in a full term neonate is around fifty centimeters long and is formed from the same zygote as the foetus, meaning that it is extremely rich in stem cells. This richness was discovered in 1978 when scientists realised that the cord blood contains undifferentiated stem cells of the type CD43-positive and CD38-negative. In 1988 the first cord blood transplant was conducted. The umbilical cord was considered medical waste for many years but has now become the focus of attention as therapy using the cord blood becomes more popular and better researched in terms of its ability to treat certain conditions.
Parents are now often able to choose to have the cord blood saved, either in a private facility, or through donation to a public cord blood bank. By storing the blood at extremely low temperatures the stem cells are kept available should the child ever require them. The placenta contains up to ten times more stem cells than cord blood but this blood usually returns, in part to neonatal circulation if the cord is not clamped soon after birth. Cord blood generally contains too few stem cells or haematopoietic (blood-producing) cells to treat an adult patient. However, in 2005, Peter Zandstra, a researcher at the University of Toronto, developed a technique that increased the amount of cord blood stem cells thereby enabling their use in treating adults (Raymer, 2006).
Treatments using cord blood-derived stem cells already include leukemia, and other blood diseases. As scientific research progresses there appear to be applications for cord blood’s use in conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and neuro-degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease. Although the likelihood of a baby whose cord blood is banked now actually using those stem cells during their life is thought be low, the rapid advance of medical science and biotechnology could make it a very wise decision indeed.
Next Read about: Dangers of Cord Blood Banking
