Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking

Why save your baby's own stem cells?

If your child ever needs a medical treatment based on stem cells, the best stem cells to use are his or her own stem cells. This is because your child's own immune system will reject anyone else's stem cells and they will be destroyed. The best stem cells are your own stem cells. A close second are stem cells from a compatible close relative.


Why not collect my child's stem cells when he or she is older?

First, as time passes, stem cells age along with the rest of the cells in the body. The older they are, the less vitality they have. They can't tolerate laboratory manipulation as well when they are older. So, if you are going to collect stem cells, collect them when the person is very young. Secondly, stem cells are rare, and collecting them later in life can be difficult and traumatic.

The best opportunity to collect young, vital stem cells comes only once in a lifetime. Umbilical cord blood contains stem cells in large numbers. The predominant stems are blood stem cells, but there are other types too - see the Stem Cells page for more information. In the second half of pregnancy stem cells move about in the baby's circulation as the infant grows and develops, and many of them can still be found in the blood at the time of birth. They are present in much larger numbers and much greater variety than are found later in life.

What happens when stem cells age?

Scientists have been studying stem cells in the laboratory for years, trying to understand and make use of their potential in medical treatment. It is now apparent that this will require the development of two new technologies:

– Methods to increase stem cell numbers - this is called stem cell expansion
– Methods to induce stem cells to develop into the cell type that the patient needs (eg heart muscle cells, nerve cells) - this is called stem cell plasticity

It has been found that the younger the stem cell is, the more expandable and plastic it is, and the better it tolerates manipulation in the laboratory. Cord blood stem cells are ideal for applying these technologies – they are up to 10 times more potent than stem cells collected from the bone marrow of adults, and they show much greater plasticity. There are many reasons for this – to learn more, read about aging in Stem Cells - a Technical Description.

So, if you're banking stem cells for future treatment, the younger the stem cells the better. And better still, if you can collect a large number of stem cells, then there will be less need for expansion later, so the plasticity of the stem cells will be preserved.

What is the difference between adult and embryonic stem cells?

Adult stem cells are taken from someone who has been born. Embryonic stem cells are taken from an embryo. However, stem cells do not fit neatly into these two categories. It is more useful to think about stem cells in terms of their vitality and capacity, which is a continuous spectrum from the most primitive stem cells through to stem cells of limited potential. As a general rule, stem cells lose primitiveness and vitality as they age.

Do not confuse cord blood stem cells with embryonic stem cells. There is no religious or ethical debate in cord blood collection and transplant.

What do you do with the cord blood stem cells once they've been collected?

The white blood cells are separated from the rest of the blood by getting rid of most of the plasma and red blood cells. The stem cells reside within this white cell population. The white cells are then cryopreserved, a process whereby the living cells are cooled down to -150oC. At this temperature, the life processes of the cell (its metabolism) slow down to a halt, virtually stopping the normal ageing process altogether. These cells can then be warmed many years later and they will be indistinguishable from the day they were frozen, making them ideal cells to use in stem cell treatments for the person from whom they were collected so many years before.

The technique of cryopreservation of cells has been used successfully for decades in medical and veterinary science. Recent studies have shown that cord blood stored in the late 1980's (when cord blood collection started) still retain all their potential

Why should I think about saving my baby's cord blood?

There is only one time in life when large numbers of young stem cells can easily be collected. And that is in the umbilical cord blood of the newborn baby.

As it happens, the collection of these cells is very simple, and poses no risk to mother or baby.

These cells are very young, and have much more vitality than stem cells collected from an older person.

And of course, they are your child's own stem cells, a perfect immunological match.

If you believe in progress, if you believe that science will advance, if you have confidence in the future, then you should think seriously about saving your baby's stem cells through cord blood banking for your baby.