From the beginning of our formation, the umbilical cord is what gives us and keeps us alive because it is what provides us with the nutrients and everything we need. But it can actually be much more useful in the future than we might think.
What are stem cells?
Stem cells are a type of cell that have certain characteristics; they can multiply practically unlimitedly, and on the other hand, if they are subjected to certain stimuli, they can be transformed into specialised cells of any part of our body, such as muscle cells, endothelial cells…
In the umbilical cord of a newborn baby, stem cells can be found in the umbilical cord. tissue these types of cells. Having those characteristics in the future can be life-saving for that person, depending on the type of tissue. pathology that it suffers from. The main diseases that can currently be treated with stem cells are leukaemias, lymphomas and metabolic diseases. They can also be implanted for the regeneration of different organs and tissues; even siblings can be treated with them, as the degree of compatibility can be up to 30%.
In people with bone marrow-related diseases, a complete bone marrow transplant from a close relative is always ideal and desirable. But unfortunately, this only happens in 30% of cases, so the storage of bone marrow stem cells from the closest relative is not always possible. blood umbilical cord blood has become an alternative option. For children, cord blood cell transplantation has more advantages than whole bone marrow transplantation.
It has also been shown that in many cancer patients, chemotherapy given to these patients can destroy cancer cells and healthy stem cells that produce blood cells. An umbilical cord stem cell transplant can help regenerate blood cells after chemotherapy.
How are they taken from the umbilical cord?
Cord blood collection should be done immediately after birth. If it is not collected at that time it can never be done again. The process is painless and safe for both the baby and the mother. When the blood has been collected, it is sent for processing under sterile conditions. In this treatment, the stem cells are separated and a cryopreserved sample is obtained at -196ºC in nitrogen liquid nitrogen. Once all steps have been completed, the sample can be sent for preservation in a sample bank for future use.
This procedure has been increasingly used in recent decades as there are only benefits to be gained from this process; the only problem is the high costs involved in preservation.
Find out all about the fugate family, whose members were blue here.