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Did You Know?
Stem cells are the building blocks of our blood and immune systems. They are found throughout the body including in bone marrow, cord blood and peripheral blood. Cord blood stem cells are particularly powerful because they have the ability to treat, repair and/or replace damaged cells in the body. Like bone marrow stem cells, cord blood stem cells are free of political and ethical debate.
Today, cord blood stems cells are used in the treatment of over 70 life-threatening diseases, including a wide range of leukemias, cancers and genetic diseases. To date, more than 10,000 patients worldwide have been treated using cord blood. The latest statistics suggest that by age 70, there is a 1 in 217 chance that any given individual will undergo a stem cell transplant. 1
The collection process is safe, easy, and painless for both mother and baby and does not interfere with delivery. After the baby is born, a medical professional will clamp or cut the cord and then collect the cord blood. The blood will flow into the bag by gravity until it stops. The actual collection typically takes three to five minutes.
Privately storing a newborn’s cord blood means that should there be a need; the baby will have a source of stem cells that is an exact match, with no risk of rejection. It also means that the family’s stem cells are readily available.
It is important to understand that there are genetic diseases that cannot be treated with one’s own stem cells. In this case, a transplant physician would look for a match in a sibling or family member. There is a 75% probability that a sibling would be an adequate match.2
The future of cellular medicine holds exciting possibilities. Medical researchers are exploring new uses for umbilical cord blood stem cells for tomorrow, including diabetes, cerebral palsy, heart disease and stroke.
In the end, one of the most important factors is that the cord blood stem cells have the greatest therapeutic value possible. Therapeutic value is likely to be determined by the quality of the cells and the probability that these cells will be able to take advantage of future technologies.
Three of the critical features you should evaluate when assessing a company’s quality’s are:
1. Transplant Results: Published transplant results with comparable or superior outcomes (survival, engraftment and graft vs. host disease) to industry norms is a good indicate or of a company’s quality.
2. Well-Established and Validated Processes: Collection, processing and cryopreservation methods used by the leaders in cord blood transplantation and supported by industry regulations are another good indicator of quality.
3. Industry approvals
a. American Association of Blood Banking (AABB) accreditation
b. FDA-approved/cleared materials and systems
To learn more about ViaCord and cord blood banking call 1-866-668-4895 or visit www.viacord.com. Knowledge is power. Know the power of cord blood.
1. Nietfeld JJ, Pasquini MC, Logan BR, Verter F, Horowitz MM. Lifetime probabilities of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the US. Biol Blood Marrow Trans. 2008;14:316-322.
2. Cord blood stem cell research to treat additional diseases is experimental.
3. Gluckman, et al. New England Journal of Medicine, 1997; 337:373
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