"Umbilical Cord Blood Banking": A way to save UCB stem cells

UMBILICAL CORD AND UCB STEM CELLS:

In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the birth cord or funiculus umbilicalis) is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta. The blood within the umbilical cord, known as cord blood, is a rich and readily available source of primitive, undifferentiated stem cells (of type CD34-positive and CD38-negative)known as Umbilical cord blood cells
Umbilical Cord blood stem cells hold great potential in treating a wide number of diseases and disorders. Cord blood stem cells are actually much more primitive than bone marrow or peripheral stem cells. These stem cells are taken from umbilical cord blood shortly after birth; once the umbilical cord has been cut, a nurse or doctor can drain the blood from the cord. This blood can then be frozen and stored privately or donated to public cord blood banks. When it is needed, the stem cells are thawed and ready to use in stem cell therapy.

ADVANTAGE OF UCB STEM CELLS:

UCB StemCell Transplnt Vs BM StemCell Transplant:-
UCB Stem cells transplant patients may hav a higher survival rate, and less feequent hospitalization due to fewer complications such as GHVD. *The overal cost of UCB transplantation less than the traditional bone marrow transplantation.
 
UCB for SC collection Vs BM for SC Collection:-
In UCB, we find much amount of stem cells as compared to bone marrow Stem Cells in 100-150 ml of Cord blood = Stem Cells in 500-1000ml of Bone Marrow


"CORD BLOOD BANKING":
Cord blood is a rich source of heamatopoeitic Stem cells and these are used for treatment of various life-threatening diseases. These stem cells are not only perfect for the child's own usage, but also for the siblings and parents. Collection of cord blood is painless, non-invasive and causes no harm or side effects to mother or the child. So, we have these cord blood banks all over, which collect the UCB Stem cells and keep it safe for years and used by the child if in later future he/she suffers from any fatal disease.

Cord Blood Banking Options:
1. Privately store your baby's cord blood : Currently, there are thousands of scientists and projects worldwide working on regenerative medicine (re-growing body parts lost through aging, injury or illness) and many families are opting for personal storage of their cord blood based on the current trends and future potential.
2. Donate the cord blood: By donating your baby's cord blood you are possibly saving the life of another human being.
3. Discard your baby's cord blood:  This option is available for families who do not which to donate or store the cord blood.


COLLECTION,SEPARATION,ENUMERATION AND CRYOPRESERVATION OF UCB STEM CELLS:

UCB Samples are collected from normal full term vaginal deliveries. The collections are made after delivery of the infant and ligation of the cord prior to the expulsion of the placenta. The UCB are to be collected while the placenta is still in utero. Using strict aseptic techniques, the umbilical vein is cleansed with alcohol followed by betadine. The umbilical vein was pierced and UCB collected in standard blood collection bags containing Citrate Phosphate Dextrose Adenine-1(CPDA-1) anticoagulant.The UCB units are to be stored at 4°c and processed within 24 hrs.

Removal of RBCs is done by hydroxy ethyl starch(HES) sedimentation. MNC counts are done by using Turk’s solution. Viability count of MNC is done by using Trypan Blue dye exclusion test. UCB mononuclear cells are cryopreserved using the cryoprotectant DMSO at a final concentration of 10%.


Types Of CORD BLOOD BANKS:

1. Public Cord Blood Banks:
*These banks store Cord blood for potential use by transplant patients.
*Cord blood is donated to the bank. client relinquishes all right after donation.
*Use is not restricted to anyone in the world.
*Processing or storage costs are collected from the donor.
*Usage subject to availability.

2. Private/Family Cord blood Banks:
*These banks store Cord blood on behalf of the client. family banking offers a sense of security to the family who know that if in future their child will need transplants, the cord blood is available immediately.
*Cord blood is available for use for the family members only.
*Processing and storage are borne by the client.
*Availability of cord blood for the potential future use in family is guaranteed.


CURRENTLY TREATABLE DISEASE WITH UCB STEM CELLS: Blood and haemoglobin disorders such as Anaemia and Thalassemia. *Immunological and metabolic disorders like Severe immunodeficiency diseases. *Cancers such as Acute lymphocytic leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia. *Autoimmune disease such as Multiple Sclerosis.

POTENTIAL FUTURE APPLICATION OF UCB STEM CELLS IN TREATING: Diabetes, Alzheimers, Heart disease, Parkinson's disease, Spinal Cord injury etc.

Stem Cells: Cartoon Stock {Images/quotes}...!!

INTRODUCTION: Enter Stem Cells...!!

Stem cells are the primal cells found in all multicellular organisms. They retain the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and can differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types.


Stem Cell Properties:
1. Self-renewal: The ability to go through numerous cycles of cell division while maintaining the undifferentiated state.
2. Unlimited potency: The capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type. In a strict sense, this requires stem cells to be either totipotent, although some multipotent or unipotent progenitor cells are sometime referred to as stem cells.

Potency definitions:

1. Totipotent stem cells: These are produced from the fusion of an egg and sperm cells. Cells produced by the first few divisions of the fertilized egg are also totipotent.These cells can differentiate into embryonic and extraembryonic cell types.
2. Pluripotent stem cells: These are the descendants of totipotent cells and can differentiate into cells derived from any of the three germ layers.
3. Multipotent stem cells: These cells can produce only cells of a closely related family of cells (e.g.-Hematopoietic stem cells differentiate into R.B.C, W.B.C, platelets etc.)
4. Unipotent stem cells: These cells can produce only one cell type, but have the property of self-renewal which distinguishes them from non-stem cells

Types of stem cells:

1. Embryonic stem cells: The stem cells obtained from the early developing stages of an embryo are called Embryonic stem cells. Stem cells obtained from this newly developed bundle of cells have the full potential to differentiate into absolutely, positively anything in the human body.Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent and give rise during development of all derivatives of three primary germ layers.
Embryonic stem cell lines are cultures of cells derived from the epiblast tissue of the inner cell mass of a blastocyst or earlier morula stage embryos.
2. Adult stem cells: Stem cells obtained from full grown adults are Adult stem cells. Stem cells have to be found in special parts of the body where they have been saved and undifferentiated, like in bone marrow or early stages of tissue development. They have been used for various applications such as cloning, trying to cure diabetis, and artificial blood.It is said that adult stem cells are clonogenic and unilineal.
The major function of adult stem cells is to maintain homeostasis in the body in terms of replacing dead or injured cells with new ones that function correctly.
3. Umbilical Cord stem cells: Stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord of a new born baby are the Umbilical cord stem cells. Millions of multipotent stem cells lie in the umbilical cord and the blood in it.These stem cells can be saved in a Stem Cell Bank and later used for bone marrow, anemia, and cancer treatments etc.


Stem cell culture:
Stem cells are cultured in laboratory and these cultured stem cells has their own research and clinical application. Major applications are: Functional genomic studies, Study of biological processes, Drug discovery and development, Cell-based therapy, Therapeutic cloning etc.