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When every baby in the World is born there is quite rightly great joy at the new life it brings. New parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts all wish the baby health, wealth and happiness. We all wish that all children can be healthy but sadly some children will inevitably go on to develop serious life threatening disease such as leukaemia and may die simply because of the lack of a suitable bone marrow donor. There is a solution to this problem which is simple and effective and it is umbilical cord stem cells.
When a baby is delivered and the umbilical cord is cut there is still a large amount of blood in the umbilical cord. This blood contains the life giving stem cells which could potentially one day save that baby’s life. Stem cells are cells that are capable of replacing diseased, damaged or simply old tissue. They are present in everyone on this planet and are responsible for replacing blood cells, skin and the lining of our digestive system on a daily basis. In the case of the umbilical cord the blood in the cord contains large numbers of blood cell forming stem cells. These cells can be collected at birth, stored frozen and used to treat such diseases as leukaemia in that individual at a later date. It may even be useful in the treatment of siblings and even parents!
The collection of umbilical cord stem cells is very simple. Once the baby has been born, and the umbilical cord had been clamped and cut, it is simply a matter of putting a needle into the umbilical cord and allowing the blood to drain into a specially designed collection bag. The bag is then placed into a shipping container and a courier takes it to the umbilical cord blood storage lab. The blood sample does not need any special treatment or keeping cool and it will be perfectly happy for up to 72 hours. This collection procedure has no effect whatsoever on the baby or the mother.
Once at the storage lab the sample is processed to concentrate the stem cells and the cells are then frozen in liquid nitrogen. At this very low temperature the cells are completely stable and can be stored for many years in case they may be needed. At present the initial storage period is 20 years although there is no scientific reason why this could not be extended to the full life-span of the individual. If the cells are needed to treat disease in the individual then the stem cells are released to the physician treating the person at precisely the time they are needed. This means that there is no need to search for a donor, a process which often fails.
At present umbilical cord stem cells have been shown to be useful in the treatment of leukaemia and related diseases in children. There is also increasing evidence that these cells are also capable of repairing other tissue in the body such as heart muscle and nerves. If this proves to be the case then these cells are even more valuable and could be used to treat such conditions as heart disease, stroke and spinal damage in the future.
In America umbilical cord stem cell storage is now standard practice, public awareness must now be raised in the UK. These are such valuable cells which should not be wasted at birth but should be collected, stored and potentially used to treat a range of diseases.
For more information on umbilical cord stem cell storage please contact Cryocare (UK) Ltd, 60, Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 5HT Tel: 020 7486 4686 or www.cryocare.biz
Dr Peter Hollands is a senior lecturer at Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge and specialises in embryology and stem cell biology (email:
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