The Benefits of Cells From Umbilical Cord Tissue

Over the years scientific development in neonatal medical care has been revolutionary. One of the best advances in this domain has been in the form of cord blood and umbilical cord tissue banking. Between the baby and the mother, the umbilical cord acts as the lifeline as it comprises of many blood vessels, by which the cord blood pulses. The tissue of the umbilical cord however enables the blood vessels to weather the stress and the presence of the cord protects and supports them from bending.

The umbilical cord tissue comes with a high concentration of mesenchymal stem cells or MSCs. A research article states that MSCs derived from the umbilical cord tissue, termed UCX, were investigated for their immunomodulatory similarities and compared to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs), the gold-standard in immunotherapy.

According to obtainable proprietary technology, UCX is being sequestered from the umbilical cord tissue; the methodology has proven to be quiet strong, reproducible and will work adequately for stem cell banking. It has been seen to produce a greater number of cells along with approximately 100% success rate with limited bacterial impurities.

In the present scenario, stem cells found in the cord blood are being used in the treatment of a number of blood-related diseases. However, there is a major hindrance as the quantity of blood collected from the umbilical cord is low and can present a drawback in terms of transplants. Studies and researches are currently underway to understand possible methods to increase efficiency of cord blood transplants. Some investigations have delved into ex vivo expansion of the hematopoietic stem cells before transplant, intensifying the homing of hematopoietic stem cells to the patients bone marrow, direct injections into the patients femoral bone, and transplants with multiple cord blood units as stated in Banking Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord Tissue For Future Regenerative Medicine Applications. A more direct technique is to make use of another stem cell population – MSCs found in the tissue – for co-transplantation with a cord blood unit, could well be the solution.

With technology to extract MSCs from cord tissue, the first step is to mince the tissue. This is further supported by an enzymatic breakdown course of action to melt away the cord tissue that in turn releases the native MSCs. An different way to preserve MSCs is to course of action the tissue and extract the cells consequently securing them in a treatment ready form.

The clinical tests conducted on these cells have revealed affinity towards treating auto-immune diseases (diabetes, Crohns disease, graft-vs-great number-disease), neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers) and cardiovascular diseases (acute myocardial infractions, ischemia).

Deciding to store the umbilical cord tissue will give you the opportunity to take advantage of the therapeutic possible of stem cells in regenerative medicine. The stem cells stored in cord blood edges represents an additional source of stem cells that may have both immediate and future applications. However, the choice to store your childs umbilical cord tissue is only obtainable to you once, consequently, think carefully while making your decision.