UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD DERIVED STEM CELLS ARE UNIQUE!

Umbilical cord blood stem cells have some additional important advantages that are sometimes lost or reduced in adult stem cells:

They are “young”: being only a maximum of nine months old, they have not suffered as much from the ageing process, often divide quicker and are more viable compared to adult stem cells.

They are “fresher”: protected by the mother’s womb from many of the viruses and infections in the open world they are less likely to be contaminated or affected by diseases.

They are “more naïve”: they are less likely to cause complications in allogeneic transplants than adult stem cells.

NOT SOLELY FOR SELF-TREATMENT

When patients receive cells that have been donated by someone else, these transplants are called allogeneic treatments, and the cells used are called allogeneic cells. We cannot be treated with cells from just any other person. Allogeneic cells must be tested for compatibility before using them. However, even when tested for compatibility, allogeneic treatments carry a certain risk. To be successful and to avoid severe adverse reactions, allogeneic transplantations are often accompanied by special drugs. Even so, foreign cells might still be rejected by the recipient’s body. For this reason, whenever possible and available (depending on the specific disease), doctors would prefer to make use of a person’s own cells.

We call this an “autologous” transplant, because patients receive cells that come from their own body (autologous cells) which will therefore be more readily accepted. Umbilical cord cells are at least as effective as bone marrow stem cells, both in autologous and allogeneic transplants. Furthermore, in allogeneic transplants, umbilical cord cells are less likely to be rejected compared with bone marrow derived cells.

In addition, if you decide to save your child’s stem cells, there’s a one in four chance of being a perfect match and a one in two probability of providing a suitable match for transplant use with close relatives such as brothers and sisters.

Studies have demonstrated that cord blood stem cells from a genetically related family member result in better transplant outcomes, less transplant-related mortality and improved long-term survival compared with stem cells from unrelated donors sourced from a public bank.
In fact, the National Marrow Donor Program expects it will release more cord blood stem cells than bone marrow stem cells for transplant in 2009.8 The Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society, a leading cancer advocacy group, also stated that “cord blood will become the standard for stem cell transplantation in the future.

Related stem cells are the preferred choice of transplant by many physicians, as they cause fewer recipient problems. Cord blood stem cells
offer a reduction in Graft vs. Host Disease (DVHD), a serious and often fatal transplant complication.

Cord blood stem cells have a 25 percent probability of being a perfect match and a 50 percent probability of providing a suitable match for
transplant use with a sibling.

Because most medical conditions do not arise until later in life, families with privately stored stem cells are likely be the first to benefit from
emerging stem cell therapies and advances in regenerative medicine.

Research shows that cord blood transplants using genetically related stem cells result in more than double the survival rate over using unrelated cord blood stem cells from a public bank (63% vs. 29%) and significantly lower instances of graft vs. host disease (GVHD), a
serious and potentially fatal transplant complication.