Things to know about stem cells from umbilical cord blood

This article is expertly advised by Dr. Nguyen Van Tinh and Dr. Ngo Anh Tien - Umbilical Cord Blood Bank, Vinmec Institute of Stem Cell Research & Gene Technology.

What are umbilical cord blood stem cells?

Nowadays, 'umbilical cord blood collection' and 'cord blood stem cell storage' are no longer strange concepts. Many families choose to store umbilical cord blood for their newborns as a form of lifelong biological insurance for their children. So what are the benefits of these actions? Does collecting umbilical cord blood have any effect on the child?

1. Why should we save umbilical cord blood?

The umbilical cord and placenta are the parts that help provide nutrients to the fetus in the mother's uterus. Cord blood is blood taken from the umbilical cord and placenta after birth and cord cutting . Previously, the umbilical cord and placenta were considered a type of medical waste and were often thrown away after each birth. However, medical research has shown that umbilical cord blood provides abundant hematopoietic stem cells and is used in supporting and treating many different diseases. In particular, the applicability of hematopoietic stem cells taken from the umbilical cord is similar to that of hematopoietic stem cells taken from bone marrow and peripheral blood. Therefore, storing MCR is essentially storing a valuable source of stem cells to support and treat many diseases and cell disorders in the future.

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells.

Stem cells are a special type of cell, capable of self-regeneration and differentiation into specialized cells. Because of these characteristics, stem cells are being researched and widely applied in the treatment of genetic diseases, hematopoietic diseases and immune diseases.

Currently, stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood can be used to treat and support more than 80 diseases such as: leukemia , lymphoma , leukemia , myelosuppression, autoimmune disease (diabetes) or genetic disorders (such as anemia , hemolytic anemia ), etc. In addition, umbilical cord blood stem cells also have the ability to differentiate into cells of other tissues such as: Muscles (skeletal muscles, heart muscle), liver cells, kidney cells, brain cells, lung cells, skin cells and pancreatic cells,. Therefore, in addition to hematological treatment, umbilical cord blood stem cells are also used Researched in the treatment of many other diseases such as heart damage, spinal cord damage, and brain damage.

Stem cells can be taken from 3 sources: Peripheral blood, bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood . However, storing peripheral blood and bone marrow stem cells requires more complex, invasive and expensive techniques, so umbilical cord blood is preferred. In particular, stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood are more primitive than stem cells taken from peripheral blood and bone marrow. This means that umbilical cord blood stem cells have higher adaptability, grow faster and create healthy blood cells.

If stem cells from umbilical cord blood are stored , in the future this will be the most suitable source of stem cells, without causing the body's rejection of the transplant. Even if a family member needs to use stem cells for treatment, the likelihood of a match between the patient and the child's stem cell sample will be higher than with stem cells from unrelated people.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells help treat many serious diseases.

2. Save umbilical cord blood - a form of biological insurance for your child

Nowadays, many parents want to store umbilical cord blood for their children as soon as they are born in order to create a reserve of stem cells for the future and use in necessary cases (treatment and medical support). disease treatment). Furthermore, this source of stem cells can also be used to treat diseases of family members if they have appropriate biological indicators.

In 1987, the world's first umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant was performed by Dr. Eliane Gluckman at Saint - Louis Hospital, Paris (France). A 5-year-old patient with Fanconi anemia received a stem cell transplant from the umbilical cord blood of his newborn sister. The transplant was successful and since then, more than 40,000 transplants have been performed and more than 25,000 patients have been saved.

3. Is the umbilical cord blood collection technique complicated?

Collecting umbilical cord blood is considered a simple technique, easy to perform and painless for both mother and baby, and can be applied to both cesarean and normal births.

To store umbilical cord blood, before giving birth, the mother needs to go to umbilical cord blood stem cell storage facilities for health tests to ensure she does not suffer from diseases such as infectious diseases, cancer , immune diseases, etc. infection and ensure adequate storage conditions for MCR according to the regulations of the storage facility.

Similar to the whole blood collection technique, when the woman gives birth, the MCR collection staff will use the needle tip of the collection bag to connect to the umbilical vein and collect MCR based on flow pressure. The collection bag already contains anticoagulant to prevent blood clots from forming. Cord blood can be collected before or after delivery of the placenta.

Umbilical cord blood collection is an easy technique to perform and is safe for mother and baby.

4. How long can cord blood be stored?

After being collected , umbilical cord blood will be transferred to the bank for further processing steps to remove excess components, separate stem cells and store them.

Many families wonder about how long to store umbilical cord blood stem cells. In fact, it is difficult to determine the maximum storage time for umbilical cord blood stem cells because in the world, cord blood banks have only existed for about 30 years. However, scientists believe that umbilical cord blood stem cells stored in deep underground conditions can be stored indefinitely. This is based on 2 hypotheses:

1. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are stored at temperatures < -190 degrees Celsius, the level at which biological activities cease.
2. Sperm and other cells stored for 50 years can still function after thawing.

5. Where can cord blood be stored?

Collecting cord blood does not pose any risks to mother or baby. Today, with modern medical technology, the application of stem cells in the treatment of incurable diseases is increasingly popular. Therefore, more and more families are choosing to store umbilical cord blood to create a ready source of stem cells in case they need to be used to treat diseases for the child or future members.