Glossary of Terms

Allogeneic use

Organs, whole blood or stem cells are taken from one person and transplanted into another person.

Autologous use

Stem cells, whole blood or tissue is taken from a person and then transplanted back into the same person at a latter time. The stem cells, whole blood or tissue has to be preserved in the meantime, using various techniques appropriate for the length of time the tissue must be stored.

Apoptosis

The cells of our body do not live as long as we do. Cells sometimes die due to injury, infection or disease. They also die because they are programmed to live only a certain period of time. For example, red blood cells live for about 120 days. They then die, and are replaced by new red blood cells. The process of programmed cell death is called apoptosis. New cells are constantly being formed to replace cells those cells that have been died. The first step in the process of the formation of new cells within the body begins with the Stem Cell.

Bone Marrow Transplantation

A Bone Marrow Transplant is a treatment used in some types of cancer. The bone marrow of the donor contains blood stem cells. It is these stem cells that are important, as they create a new immune system in the recipient (the patient). The bone marrow transplant is in fact a stem cell transplant. It is reserved for life-threatening situations.

Cord Blood Transplant

As cord blood contains blood stem cells, it can be used in the same way as bone marrow. However, because cord blood collections are small, the recipient must be lighter than 40kg. Cord blood transplants are usually only performed in children with leukaemia.

Collection (Cord Blood Collection)

Collection takes place after birth of the baby, but before the placenta is delivered. It is safe for mother and baby, painless and does not interfere with the birthing process.

Cord blood

This is the blood contained within the umbilical cord and placenta of all mammals. This blood has been discarded as medical waste up to now, but it contains stem cells.

Cord Blood Stem Cells

Stem cells found in the cord blood of the newborn baby. They are of several types. The majority are haematopoietic (Blood) Stem Cells, but there are also Mesenchymal Stem Cells as well as other types.

Cryogenic

The process of freezing any tissue (in this case, cord blood stem cells) down to very low temperatures. The metabolism of the cell slows to almost, but not quite a complete halt. So the cell aged very slowly in cryogenic storage.

Council of Europe Guidelines

The European Union’s Council of Europe established guidelines for storage of cord blood stem cells. These guidelines were used by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration as its standard for licensing, for some years. They were superceded some two years ago by the more rigorous FACT/Netcord Guidelines (see below).

Expansion

Techniques to increase the numbers of stem cells. Treatments in the future will rely on cell expansion techniques. Only a limited number of stem cells can be obtained from a single cord blood unit. We anticipate that your child will use his stem cell son a number of occasions throughout life. Stem cell expansion technology will enable his cord blood unit to provide the cells necessary for this.

Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT)

FACT and the network of cord blood banks in North America (NetCord) established the FACT/NetCord guidelines some years ago to be the world’s best practice in laboratory standards for cord blood banking. The FACT/NetCord guidelines were adopted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for Australian licensing of cord blood banks two years ago. These guidelines superseded the Council of Europe Guidelines.

Haematopoietic Stem Cells (aka Blood Stem Cells)

Stem cells that are the precursors of the three blood cell types; red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. A haematopoietic stem cell is one that can divide and produce all these blood cells. Recently, scientists have discovered that haematopoietic stems cells can give rise to a range of other tissues as well; they are multi-potent (see below).
Do not confuse Blood stem cells with Cord Blood Stem cells
Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA’s)
The immune system of the body uses HLA’s to identify friend from foe; i.e. the immune system interrogates each cell in the body and asks, ’Is this cell part of our body, or is it an invader, to be destroyed?’ In transplantation medicine, donor and recipient are matched through tissue typing using the HLA system. We try to trick the immune system of the recipient into thinking the donor’s transplant is not in fact foreign tissue. For this to work, the closest possible match is the best.

Leukaemia

Leukaemia is a malignancy of white blood cells. It comes from one cell that goes wrong, and will not stop dividing. It is a clonal disease. The leukaemic cells consume all the nutrients and occupy all space in the bone marrow and simply out-compete normal blood forming cells. There are many different kinds of leukaemia.

Maternal blood

Blood taken from the mother, which is completely separate from the blood taken from the umbilical cord. Maternal blood is tested for infectious diseases before the baby’s stem cells are stored, because if mother has an infectious disease, she may have passed it on to the baby.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Cord blood contains significant numbers of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. These cells have properties similar to Embryonic Stem Cells. Mesenchymal Stem Cells are pluri-potent, and hold great promise in stem cell research.

Multipotency

The ability of a stem cell to give rise to a number of different cell types within the body. In stem cell biology, there is a range of potency which progresses thus:
totipotent → pluripotent → multipotent → committed

Plasticity

In the laboratory, a committed stem cell can be induced to produce types of cell that are not its ’home’ cell. For example, a blood stem cell can be induced to produce nerve, gastrointestinal, cartilage and muscle cells. This capacity of the blood stem cell is called plasticity.

Public Cord Blood Bank

A Cord Blood Bank that stores cord blood units for use in the treatment of childhood leukaemia. This use is allogeneic, or donor → recipient. The donation of the cord blood unit is altruistic. The Government funds the operation of this type of cord bank.

Private Cord Blood Bank

A Cord Blood Bank that stores cord blood units, to be used in future treatments, by the child from whom the cord blood unit was collected. This use is autologous, or self-use. The parents of the baby pay a fee for the costs of storage.

Regenerative Medicine

Stem Cells are likely to be a supply of new cells when the body looses its ability to replace its own cells as they turn over (see Stem Cell below). The body gradually looses this ability to generate its own new cells from middle age. As we (or in this case our children) wear out, stored stem cells will be able to reverse the diseases of aging. Hence the term, Regenerative Medicine.

Stem cell

The cells of our body do not live as long as we do. They are constantly being replaced by new cells, as they age and die (called Apoptosis). Cells are replaced by new cell that grow up within each of the organs of our body. The first cell in this process of cell replenishment is a Stem Cell. It can divide into two; producing one new cell to start a new population to replace aging cells, and a second new cell which is an exact copy of itself. This ability of the stem cell to divide asymmetrically is unique. In all other cell division, the mother cell divides to produce two daughter cells which are identical with each other. This type of cell division is symmetrical.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

A division of the Department of Health and Aging of the Federal Government, the TGA is the authority responsible for licensing cord blood banks in Australia. For this purpose, the TGA uses the industry best practice standard, the FACT /Cord Guidelines.