Health Update

Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells

Blood obtained from the umbilical cord at birth is rich in stem cells that can generate red blood cells and cells of the immune system. By storing these cord blood stem cells at birth, problems associated with immune rejection of foreign cells, if required later in life, will not occur. These stored cord blood cells can also be used to treat a range of blood disorders and immune system conditions such as leukaemia, anaemia and autoimmune diseases in the donor, compatible siblings or other tissue matched individuals. After transplantation, the haematopoietic stem cells can repopulate the bone marrow of the patient, providing a source of blood cells. It currently constitutes an increasingly used alternative to bone marrow transplantation.

In order to have cord blood cells available for transplantation a number of banks were created worldwide. These banks are run by either hospitals or non-profit organizations that collect the samples from donors and provide them when the cells are needed for transplantation. Recently, private firms have been offering to future parents the conservation of blood from the umbilical cord of newborn children for one’s own use or for the use of close relatives. Different types of cord blood banks can be distinguished : private or public, for-profit or non-profit. (more…)