A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Stem Cells and Their Preservation

1. A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Stem Cells and Their Preservation Are you soon-to-be a mother and wondering whether you should or shouldn’t preserve stem cells of your baby? That’s a vague notion most parents have these days. Human stem cells are one of the most exciting breakthroughs in modern medicine to treat diseases. Even if there were a treatment for the illnesses, it would take either a very long period or was painful and had a high risk. Read on this article as it discusses a beginner’s guide to understand stem cells and why you should preserve them. Stem cells Stem cells are the building blocks of the body. They can divide for a long time. They differentiate into specialized cell types. Usually, they come from two sources: embryo and adult tissues. Those that are found in the human embryo are the earliest stem cells. These cells can give rise to several different cell types, tissue, and organ in the fetus. Unlike a regular cell, stem cells are pluripotent. They can also self-renew and reproduce themselves many times over. There are many types of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells – These cells include those cells that are found in the embryo of the fetus or the umbilical cord blood. Embryonic stem cells can give rise to any cell in the human body. But, it depends on when they are harvested. Adult stem cells –These cells are found in infants, children, and adults. They are available in tissues like heart, kidney, and brain. They can also give rise to cells, but only within their resident organs. Induced pluripotent stem cells –Abbreviated as IPSC, these cells are adult. They’re experimentally “reprogrammed” into a stem cell-like state.

2. Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells The umbilical cord is the part of the placenta. It supplies nutrients to the fetus after a baby is born. When your doctor suggests you for cord-blood banking, this basically means collecting and storing the blood from the umbilical cord. Blood-Forming Stem Cells Blood-forming stem cells have a very crucial role to play. Doctors use these cells to treat many diseases that require stem cell transplants – also known as bone marrow transplants. These diseases include aplastic anemia, certain kinds of lymphoma or leukemia, severe sickle cell disease, and severe combined immunodeficiency. Cord blood contains these blood-forming stem cells. Why Cord Blood Preservation Is Necessary A large number of people are diagnosed with certain diseases like severe types of cancer, specific immune deficiencies and blood disorders like particular cases of anemia. All these diseases require prompt treatment with stem cell transplants. The problem is that most patients don’t have a close HLA match for the transplant or they don’t find a matching donor. As a consequence, they lose their lives. On the other part, when you choose to store the cord blood, it means that the cord blood will be readily available for the bone marrow transplants. If the sibling (or parents, grandparents or blood related) of the baby is diagnosed with any of the diseases mentioned above, the cord blood - that you have stored in a cord blood stem cell bank - can help treat the disease. The chances of HLA match of two siblings are more (not 100%). Hence, the disease can be treated easily. Therefore, as a soon-to-be a mother, you should opt for storing umbilical cord of your baby. The process is very simple and pain-free.