Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy

What is umbilical cord stem cell therapy?

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of vibrant young cells, including stem cells, cytokines and growth factors that support tissue regeneration and repair. Umbilical cord blood is derived from the umbilical cord which connects the mother to her baby.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are undifferentiated (not specified) cells with the potential to develop into other types of specialized cells like soft tissue, muscle and cartilage. Types of stem cells present in umbilical cord blood include Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Hematopoietic Stem Cells and other beneficial cell populations. These young cells, cytokines and growth factors work together to help balance the body’s ability to repair and regenerate itself.

What are the sources of umbilical cord blood?

Umbilical cord blood is donated tissue from consenting donors that undergo full testing. Each donor is subjected to comprehensive infectious disease testing that surpass federal and industry standards, ensuring it is safe for use.

What are the potential uses of umbilical cord blood?

Umbilical cord blood is used to treat a variety of conditions.

Potential uses

Umbilical cord a blood stem cells may be used to treat various conditions such as:

  • Degenerative diseases
  • Tissue injuries
  • Blood Disorders
  • Certain cancers
  • Metabolic Disorders
  • Immune Disorders

Umbilical cord blood cells easily adapt to your body’s environment and begin to signal your cells. This signaling can speed up the body’s natural healing process and reinforce the body’s immune system.

What does the procedure of obtaining umbilical cord blood involve?

Cord blood is obtained from a healthy donor during a live healthy birth. The umbilical cord is clamped and cut as normal following birth, but instead of discarding, the cord is taken to another room where the leftover blood within is obtained. The mother and baby do not experience any pain and the baby does not experience any shortage of stem cells.

Once obtained, the blood is tested and processed to remove the red blood cells and the plasma. The remaining mononucleated cells, which include stem cells, can be developed into a biologic therapy which may be cryopreserved or frozen for later use.

What are the advantages of using umbilical cord stem cell therapy?

The advantage of using stem cells and growth factors from the umbilical cord are:

  • They differentiate and multiply more efficiently
  • They naturally move to the desired area
  • They adapt very well to the host body without causing an adverse reaction
  • As the umbilical cord is normally discarded at birth, its use for cellular therapy does not raise any ethical concerns

What are the risks and complications of umbilical cord stem cell therapy?

There is no possible risk to the baby or mother since the cord blood is obtained after the cord has been detached.

There is a small risk of infection and swelling when administering umbilical cord blood therapy to a patient.