Cord Blood Benefits

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after the birth of your baby. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, which can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.

Red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, and platelets are all present in cord blood in equal amounts. There are certain changes in the blood composition between cord blood and whole blood, such as higher concentrations of natural killer cells, Cord Blood Benefits a lower absolute number of T cells, and a higher percentage of immature T cells in cord blood. However, the discovery that cord blood also contains a variety of stem and progenitor cells, mostly hematopoietic stem cells, is what has generated much of the interest in cord blood.

Table of Contents

Cord Blood Benefits

Although mesenchymal stem cells and other non-hematopoietic stem cell types can also be identified in cord blood, their concentrations are substantially lower than those of adult bone marrow. Multipotent adult stem cells without restrictions and endothelial progenitor cells can both. Cord blood stem cells are multipotent as opposed to pluripotent embryonic stem cells.

Medical uses

Similar to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cord blood is used to reconstruct bone marrow after radiation therapy for a variety of blood malignancies as well as for a variety of anemias. The effectiveness is comparable.

Adverse effects in transplantation

The risks of developing graft-versus-host disease if the cord blood is from a genetically different person and life-threatening infections while the immune system is being rebuilt are comparable to those of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Levels of engraftment must be present, specifically the production of both neutrophils and platelets, to ensure that the fewest possible difficulties arise during transplantation. However, the creation of neutrophils and platelets following the transplant takes significantly longer than the production of stem cells. The cell dosage, or the number of stem cells found in the blood sample, frequently affects the engraftment time.

According to Dr. Moise’s paper on umbilical cord blood, there are around 10% less stem cells in cord blood than in bone marrow. In order to acquire an acceptable cell dosage, a substantial amount of cord blood must be collected; however, this amount varies from newborn to infant and is irreplaceable. This concept is somewhat new, therefore there is still a ton of study to be done. For instance, it is still unclear how long cord blood may be properly stored without deteriorating its therapeutic properties. Even with laxer HLA match standards, cord blood transplants have a lower incidence than conventional HSCT.

Collection and storage

A youngster with Fanconi anemia had the first cord blood transplant (CBT) in 1988, and the procedure was successful. Early attempts to employ CBT in adults resulted in mortality rates of about 50%, in part because the operation was performed on very ill people, but also possibly because the immune cells from the transplant took a long time to grow. About 600,000 cord blood units were stored in banks as of 2013, after 30,000 CBT procedures.

Society and culture

Regulation:

Standards for cord blood banking facilities’ optional accreditation have been developed by the AABB.

Any institution that keeps cord blood is subject to regulation by the Food and medicine Administration in the US; cord blood used to treat the original recipient is exempt from regulation, but cord blood used to treat others is subject to regulation as a medicine and a biologic. The regulation of cord blood banks varies by state.

The use of cord blood is governed in Europe, Canada, and Australia as well. The NHS Cord Blood Bank, a public cord blood bank that is a part of the NHS, was established in the United Kingdom in 1996 to collect, process, store, and supply cord blood.

Private and public banks:

A cord blood bank may be public (the blood is stored and made available for use by unrelated donors) or private (the blood is stored for and the costs are covered by donor families). Private cord banking is debatable in the medical and parenting communities, even if public cord blood banking is largely favored. Although the use of umbilical cord blood in the treatment of hematological and genetic problems is well known, there is considerable debate concerning its collection and storage by private banks for the baby’s benefit. Only one in 1,000 to one in 200,000 infants are thought to use the stored umbilical cord blood at some point in their lives.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2007 Policy Statement on Cord Blood Banking stated that “Physicians should be aware of the unsubstantiated claims of private cord blood banks made to future parents that promise to insure infants or family members against serious illnesses in the future by use of the stem cells contained in cord blood.” Unless a family member has a present or future need for a stem cell transplant, “private storage of cord blood as ‘biological insurance’ is unwise” (). The Institute of Medicine claims that just 14 such procedures have ever been carried out, however the American Academy of Pediatrics states that the likelihood of using a person’s own cord blood is 1 in 200,000.

It is forbidden to store one’s own cord blood privately in France and Italy, and it is discouraged in some other European nations as well. “Private banking should be considered in the unusual circumstance when there is a family history of a condition in which umbilical cord stem cells are therapeutically indicated,” according to the American Medical Association. Private banking should not be suggested to low-risk families due to its high cost, low possibility of use, and closed off access. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation both support public cord blood banking and oppose private cord blood banking. Since most curable disorders cannot use a private bank, public banks are where the majority of cord blood transplants are performed.

The prospect of using one’s own cord blood stem cells for regenerative medicine is currently totally speculative, according to the World Marrow Donor Association and European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies.Therefore, it is extremely speculative that cord blood cells stored for autologous use may be valuable in the future, and “the validity of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they market a service with currently no practical application in terms of therapeutic choices.

In order for parents to make an informed choice, the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages initiatives to disseminate information regarding the potential advantages and disadvantages of cord blood banking and transplantation. Additionally, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises that accurate information should be provided to patients who ask about umbilical cord blood banking. The federal and state legislatures both promote cord blood education. “Establishing a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Program” is the title of a 2005 Institute of Medicine (IoM) paper that was released by the National Academy of Sciences.

Ethical Aspects of Umbilical Cord Blood Banking is the title of Opinion No.19 by the European Union Group on Ethics (EGE), which was published in March 2004. “The legitimacy of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they sell a service, which at this time has no real use regarding therapeutic options,” the EGE stated in its conclusion. As a result, they make promises that they cannot keep. Serious ethical concerns are raised by these banks’ actions.

Research

Research has been conducted in several fields, even though cord blood usage for conditions other than blood and immune problems are speculative. The fact that cord cells are hematopoietic stem cells, which can only differentiate into blood cells, as opposed to pluripotent stem cells, like embryonic stem cells, which can differentiate into any form of tissue, limits any such potential beyond blood and immunological purposes. Researchers have looked into using cord blood to treat diabetes. The use of cord blood for diseases other than blood disorders, however, is not a common clinical practice and continues to be a significant issue for the stem cell community.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been studied in vitro, in animal models, and in early stage clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases, neurological deficits, liver diseases, immune system diseases, diabetes, lung injury, kidney injury, and leukemia as of 2015. In addition to cord blood, Wharton’s jelly and the cord lining have also been investigated as sources for MSC.

Stem cells from cord blood are being utilized to evaluate persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. A number of blood disorders, including blood malignancies, are being treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

In the underdeveloped world, cord blood is also being investigated as a possible replacement for regular blood transfusions. Before cord blood transfusions are used widely, more research is required.

Recent clinical investigations demonstrate that transplant-related mortality was 5% and relapse incidence was 21% 1 year following the transplant of UM171 (a haematopoietic stem cell self-renewal agonist). The number of patients who died after receiving the UM171-expanded cord blood transplant was just 3 out of 22, or about 14%.

Cord Blood Benefits

Medical uses

Adverse effects in transplantation

Collection and storage

Society and culture

Regulation:

Private and public banks:

Research

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