Pregnancy & Birth - Preserve your new born baby's cord blood stem cells

Being pregnant is an altogether different but pleasant experience. Of course, every parent wants the best for their child. And now science gives you the ability to secure the future wellness of your child and other family members. The solution - Umbilical cord blood banking.

What is cord blood?

Cord blood, which is also called "placental blood," is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut. Stems cells are what make cord blood valuable.

What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are the body's "master" cells because they create all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. The ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate, or change into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds significant promise for improving the treatment of some of the most common diseases. The stem cells can easily transform into:

• Red Blood Cells, which carry oxygen to all the cells in the body
• White Blood Cells, which fight infection
• Platelets, which aid in clotting in the event of injury

Sources, where stem cells are commonly found:

• Umbilical Cord Blood
• Bone Marrow
• Peripheral Blood (the blood that circulates through your body)

Like donated bone marrow, stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be used to treat various genetic disorders like leukemia and certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's. But Cord blood is a richer source of stem cells than bone marrow, with nearly 10 times as many blood-producing cells, so fewer cord blood cells are needed for a successful transplantation.

Cord blood also has advantages over adult stem cells. Cord blood stem cells, unlike adult stem cells, are less likely to contain DNA abnormalities caused by sunlight, toxins and errors in DNA replication during the course of a lifetime. Cord blood stem cells are also less likely to be rejected in transplants.

Where Do Stem Cells Come From?

Following the birth of a baby, the umbilical cord is cut and usually discarded, along with the placenta. However, medical research has shown that the blood that is retrieved from the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells. Stem cells are generic cells that can develop into specialized cells such as a brain cell, a red blood cell, or a muscle cell. Freezing these cells essentially stops the clock and prevents aging and damage that may occur to the cells later in life.

When are stem cells used?

When patients suffering from a disease such as leukemia undergo successful treatment with radiation or chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells alive in their body, the radiation and chemotherapy treatments not only destroy the cancer cells, rather, in the process; they may also destroy the patient's healthy cells and bone marrow.

Bone marrow is essential for the production of blood cells. If the bone marrow is destroyed, a stem cell transplant becomes necessary. Transplanted stem cells re-populate the bone marrow thereby replenishing the body's supply of cells.

Cord blood stem cells have been found to differentiate into neural cells, which could lead to treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. They have also proven their ability to turn into blood vessel cells, which could some day benefit treatments for heart disease, allowing patients to essentially "grow their own bypass."

Why are doctors turning to cord blood instead of bone marrow?

Easier to match -- higher survival
Bone marrow is difficult to match between the donor and recipient because a perfect match is usually required. Cord blood cells, however, are less mature than in bone marrow and can be successfully used even when there is only a half-match. This means there is more opportunity for transplants between family members when cord blood is used. Overall survival rates for related transplants are found to be more than double that of transplants from unrelated donors.

Immediate availability
Banking cord blood ensures that these stem cells can be immediately available if they are needed for treatment. Early treatment of many illnesses can minimize disease impact.

Less GVHD
Overall, patients who receive cord blood transplants from a relative experience significantly less Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD), a transplant rejection that is the leading cause of death in stem cell transplant patients.

What is graft vs. host disease (GVHD)?

GVHD is one of the most common and life threatening side effects of a stem cell/bone marrow transplant. GVHD occurs when the transplanted stem cells recognize the recipient's body as foreign, and "reject" it. Cord blood transplants have had a noticeable lack of GVHD because the stem cells from the donor do not need to match the recipient as closely as with bone marrow.

What is HLA matching?

Matching refers to six proteins called Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) that appear on the surface of white blood cells and other tissues in the body. These six HLA points, or loci, determine tissue compatibility between a patient and a donor. Although a perfect match would be best, studies have shown that cord blood transplants are successful, even when only three of the six loci match. With cord blood, the immune cells are less mature than those in bone marrow, and therefore siblings are twice as likely to be able to use each other's cord blood, compared to bone marrow.

The Benefits of Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood stem cells are investment for the whole family. Using a family member's stored stem cells gives the patient a higher probability of finding an exact or acceptable match for their transplantation options. The probability that the stem cells will be an exact HLA type blood match is as follows: 1/1 for the child the stem cells were collected from, 1/2 for mother and father of this child, and 1/4 for a sibling of the child whose stem cells are saved from. Stems cells are also a probable match for other relatives in the child's blood line. Stem cells are more compliant with the body and its ability to accept foreign material in the process of increasing and sustaining healthy cells. The list of diseases which can be treated is growing every year as scientists study this fascinating field.

Diseases treated with stem cell transplantation?

The list below reflects some of the types of diseases that have treatments involving cord blood stem cell transplantation.

Heart Attacks. Doctors have infused stem cells into the damaged heart muscle of numerous heart attack patients to see if the cells would generate new heart tissue and repair the damage. Results are promising.

Coronary Artery Disease. Doctors have infused stem cells in the hearts of patients with clogged arteries. The stem cells helped new blood vessels grow around the blocked arteries, thus improving blood flow to the areas in the heart at risk of damage.

Vascular Disease. Stem cells have been shown to grow new blood vessels around narrowed or damaged arteries in the limbs and restore impaired blood flow.

Nerve and Brain Damage. Researchers have recently shown in a laboratory setting that human stem cells can mature into nerve cells. The implication of this for treating a variety of neurological problems is astounding.

Strokes. Researchers have shown that infusing human stem cells into rats improves brain function after a stroke or traumatic brain injury.

Multiple Sclerosis. Doctors have infused stem cells into patients with MS and have shown mild improvement in their disease.

Diabetes. it is another disease that is affecting more and more people. If stem cells could regenerate new pancreas tissue, millions of people could benefit. Future might hold many more promises.

Here are some benefits when cord blood is used instead of bone marrow:

• Research has shown that survival rates double when a person's own cord blood or a family member's cord blood is used, compared to using an unrelated donor sample from a public stem cell bank.
• Having your own private sample ensures immediate availability of a perfectly matched sample.
• While bone marrow can also be a source of stem cells if needed, cord blood stem cells are easier to match for family members, thus increasing the chance that a family member can receive a related stem cell transplant.
• Research has shown that patients who receive cord blood stem cell transplants have a smaller chance of rejecting the cells, compared to bone marrow stem cell transplants.

How cord blood is collected and stored

Months before your due date, the cord blood bank sends you a collection kit that contains everything that is needed for the process. The bank also sends your OB or Midwife instructions to make sure he or she knows how to collect the blood. When baby is born, and the umbilical cord is cut, the OB or Midwife collects the blood from the remaining umbilical cord and placenta (not from baby) into a syringe or blood bag. The process takes a few minutes; It can even be collected during a C-section. A family member places the cord blood into the pre-addressed mailing package, and makes one phone call to a medical courier to pick up the kit. Within hours the cord blood is picked up and shipped overnight to the cord blood bank. Once there, it is processed. The stem cells are removed from the cord blood, and it is placed into deep freeze storage. Collecting cord blood is simple, completely safe and non-invasive, and takes very little time.

Hoiw to choose a cord blood bank?

Making the decision to bank our baby's cord blood was easy. Deciding whom we should trust to do the banking is more challenge. Here are some reasons on the basis of which you can decide:

• bank has prior transplant experience, this was important to me because if a bank has never used a single sample, how do they know their samples are viable and being stored properly?
• bank is accredited, and has a good track record. Why is this important? Many hospitals won't accept units for transplant unless the storage facility is an accredited blood bank.
• It is a cord blood bank and not just a middle-man.
• Bank is affiliated with some of the well-respected institution. This gives you confidence that they are a professional institution that has a long-term interest in stem cell research and medical applications. It also gives other doctors who are treating their patients with stem cells confidence to know the samples are coming from a reputable institution.
• bank is a financially strong company and has been storing cord blood since quite sometime. This is crucial because you want your samples to still be around in 20 years or more.

Storing Cord Blood

The cord blood bank asks the mother to complete a consent form and health history questionnaire and give a small blood sample. Collecting cord blood poses no health risk to the mother or infant donor and no collection is made if there are any complications during delivery.

After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the link between the baby and the placenta. Trained members of staff drain the blood from the umbilical cord and placenta. The blood is usually collected using a needle to draw the blood into a blood bag. The collection usually takes ten minutes or less and it is then sent off for cord blood storage. On average, about three to five fluid ounces are collected from the umbilical cord to produce enough stem cells.

A private bank ensures the cord blood stem cells are available only to the family who preserved the cord blood. The stem cells are an exact match for the baby, and the cells have at least a one in four chance of being an exact match for a sibling.

Some Useful links

Stem cells - cure for paralysis

Cord blood banking FAQ

Future Research

Final note

Deciding whether or not to go ahead with banking your baby's cord blood is a your personal decision and it is also a financial commitment. But parents only have one chance with each child to take advantage of this technology. When choosing where to store your child's cord blood cells, make sure the choice you make is as serious about storing the cord blood cells as you are. You can enroll anytime during your pregnancy, but the earlier you do so, the more time you and your attendant have to receive the collection kit.

Quote of the week:
"Do, or do not. There is no 'try" Yoda (' The Empire Strikes Back')