As parents, your first concern is the health and well-being of your child. One step in ensuring your child’s future health is through the preservation of stem cells. Researchers are investigating stem cells for their ability to treat numerous conditions, from blood diseases to immune disorders.
LifeCell’s stem cell banking enables you to store stem cells at birth, potentially helping you safeguard your child from 90+ diseases in future. This easy, proactive measure gives parents peace of mind, knowing they have taken an important step to safeguard their child’s health.
By making informed choices while pregnant, such as banking stem cells, you are paving the way to a healthier tomorrow for your baby. Stem cell banking gives one the chance to be able to use sophisticated medical treatments, allowing long-term gain as medicine progresses.
In this blog, we’ll explain stem cell banking in detail. So that you and your family are aware of its potential benefits.
What Is Stem Cell Preservation?
Stem cell banking is when the blood from your baby’s umbilical cord is collected and stored after birth. This blood is what’s left in the umbilical cord once it’s cut. The umbilical cord connects your baby to the placenta, which provides food and oxygen to the baby during pregnancy.
Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells, which are important because they can help treat serious diseases and are thus lifesaving. Stem cell banks collect and store these cells to use for medical treatments or research.
Choosing to store your baby’s stem cells is completely optional. Some people decide to store their baby’s cord blood, while others do not. If you don’t donate or store it, the blood is usually discarded along with the placenta. Your healthcare provider will usually give you information about stem cell banking during your prenatal visits.
How Are Stem Cells Collected And Stored?
Stem cells are collected immediately after the birth of a baby, following the clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord. A healthcare provider inserts a needle into the umbilical cord vein to draw the remaining blood into a sterile collection bag. This procedure is painless and poses no risk to either the mother or the newborn.
Once collected, the cord blood can be stored in either public or private cord blood banks:
- Public Cord Blood Banks: Donating to a public bank is free and makes the stem cells available to anyone in need or for research purposes. These banks are regulated to ensure safety and quality standards.
- Private Cord Blood Banks: Opting for private cord blood banking involves collecting and storing your newborn’s umbilical cord blood exclusively for your family’s potential future medical use. This process entails certain financial commitments and considerations.
What Are Stem Cells Used For?
Stem cells are capable of transforming into several specialized cell types, like muscle, blood, or brain cells. They act as a repair mechanism for the body, healing tissues and helping in replenishment processes.
Stem Cell transplants are used to treat four main types of health problems:
- Cancers – These include diseases like leukemia and lymphoma, where stem cells help replace damaged or destroyed blood-forming cells.
- Blood Disorders – Some people may have inherited conditions that affect their blood, like sickle-cell anemia or Fanconi’s anemia. Stem cells can help make healthy blood cells in these cases
- Metabolic Disorders – These are conditions where the body can’t break down or use certain compound in the body properly like fatty acids. One example is adrenoleukodystrophy, and stem cells can sometimes help by restoring normal cell function.
- Immune System Problems – Some people are born with weak immune systems, like in Duncan’s disease or adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. Stem cell transplants can help rebuild a working immune system in such cases.
Stem cells’ capacity to regenerate damaged tissues and organs has been under research. For example, stem cells are being studied for their ability to repair heart muscle after a heart attack, restore nerve function in spinal cord injuries, and regenerate insulin-producing cells in diabetes.
Stem cells can also be used to test new medications for safety and effectiveness. By observing how stem cells develop into specific cell types, researchers can evaluate drug responses and potential toxicities before clinical trials.
Important Considerations
While stem cell preservation has great potential, there are several important things to take care of, while opting for this procedure.
- Cryoprotectant Toxicity: Cryoprotectants like DMSO are used to protect stem cells during freezing, but they can be toxic if used in high amounts. Make sure your healthcare provider is well trained for the procedure.
- Storage and Handling: For preserved stem cells to remain useful, they must be stored under very specific conditions and handled carefully. Cells are gradually cooled at a rate of 1–2°C per minute down to approximately −40°C, then more rapidly to −120°C. This controlled cooling minimizes thermal shock and preserves cell integrity. Post-freezing, stem cells are stored in sealed cryo-containers within vapor-phase liquid nitrogen tanks at temperatures around −196°C. This environment halts all metabolic activity, allowing for long-term preservation. This ensures that the cells stay safe and maintain their ability to work when needed.
What Is Community Stem Cell Banking?
Community stem cell banking is a unique idea started by LifeCell in India. It mixes the benefits of both private and public stem cell banking. In this system, families can store their baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells in a shared collection. This means they not only have access to their own stem cells, but also to a large pool of stem cells stored by other families in the community. This increases the chances of finding a suitable match if the stem cells are ever needed for medical treatment.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, stem cell banking offers significant benefits for both personal and medical use, with companies like LifeCell providing an accessible and reliable option for families. With their advanced cryopreservation technology, which helps ensure that the stem cells remain viable for long-term storage, you can be at peace knowing your stem cells are safely preserved for potential use in the future.
While the decision to bank stem cells is highly personal, understanding the benefits and options available can help families make an informed choice about this potentially life-saving service.
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