New Life with Stem Cells
Cord blood stem cell transplants have already changed—and
saved—thousands of lives around the world. They have already been used to treat
more than 75 diseases, including numerous types of malignancies, anemia's,
inherited metabolic disorders and deficiencies of the immune system.
A stem cell is a remarkable cell, as it has the amazing
ability to change into a variety of different cell types in the body such as
heart muscle cells, brain cells, and skin cells. Stem cells, which are often
referred to as one of the body's "master cells," can grow into any
one of the body's more than 200 cell types. Stem cells assist the body in maintaining,
renewing and repairing tissue and cells damaged by disease, injury and everyday
life. . They have already been used to treat more than 75 diseases. If you think about it, stem cells act as the internal
repair system for the body. The magic begins when a stem cell divides. Each new cell has the potential to
either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more
specialized function such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain
cell. Stem cells also have the capability to self-renew, meaning they can
reproduce themselves many times over.
Stem cells can create additional cells and may later be
transplanted or used for a variety of medical procedures. This is why stem
cells are collected and stored.
Different Types of Stem Cells
Umbilical cord blood and bone marrow are two sources of stem
cells that may sound familiar to people. Both umbilical cord blood and bone
marrow contain a type of adult stem cell. Adult stem cells, which come from the
tissue of live human beings, are currently the only type of stem cell commonly
used to treat human diseases. Now, with cord blood banking, stem cells can be
properly preserved if and when they are ever needed. Read about other sources
of adult stem cells.
Bone Marrow
- red blood cells (erythrocytes) - carry oxygen to the tissues in the body.
- white blood cells (leukocytes) - help fight infections and to aid in the immune system.
- platelets - help with blood clotting.
What are stem cells?
Every type of blood cell in the bone marrow begins as a stem cell. Stem cells are immature cells that are able to produce other blood cells that mature and function as needed.
Stem cells are the most important cells needed in a bone marrow transplant. Stem cells, when transplanted, find their way to the recipient's marrow and begin to differentiate and produce all types of blood cells that are needed by the body. There is test for bone marrow. It's called as "Bone Marrow Biopsy and Aspiration." Let's see the Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration test.
Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration
Bone
marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration are procedures to collect and examine
bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside some of your larger bones. Bone marrow
biopsy and bone marrow aspiration can show whether your bone marrow is healthy
and making normal amounts of blood cells. Doctors use bone marrow biopsy and
aspiration to diagnose and monitor blood and marrow diseases, including some
cancers.
Why
it’s done? Bone
marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration offer detailed information about the
condition of your bone marrow and blood cells. Your doctor may order a bone
marrow exam if blood tests, such as cell counts, are abnormal or don't provide
enough information about a suspected problem. Examining bone marrow gives a
detailed picture of the types, amount and condition of forming blood cells.
Your doctor may perform a bone marrow exam to:
- · Diagnose a disease or condition involving the bone marrow or blood cells
- · Determine the stage or progression of a disease
- · Check iron levels and metabolism
- · Monitor treatment of a disease
- · Anemia
- · Bone marrow disorders, such as myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis
- · Blood cell conditions in which too few or too many of certain types of blood cells are produced, such as leukopenia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, thrombocytosis, pancytopenia and polycythemia
- · Cancers of the blood or bone marrow, including leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma
- · Cancers that have spread from another area, such as breast, into the bone marrow
- · Hemochromatosis
- · Infections
A
bone marrow biopsy and a bone marrow aspiration offer different, but
complementary, information about your bone marrow cells. The two procedures are
most often performed together. In some cases, you may need only an aspiration.
Bone
marrow has a fluid portion and a more solid portion. In bone marrow aspiration,
your doctor uses a needle to withdraw a sample of the fluid portion. In a bone
marrow biopsy, a larger needle is used to take a sample of the solid part.
Bone
marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration are often done at the same time.
Together, bone marrow biopsy and aspiration may be called a bone marrow exam.
Risks Bone marrow exams are safe procedures. Complications are rare but can include:
- · Excessive bleeding, particularly in people with a low platelet count
- · Infection, especially in people with weakened immune systems
- · Long-lasting discomfort at the biopsy site
- · Penetration of the breastbone (sternum) during sternal aspirations, which can cause heart or lung problems
- · Complications related to sedation, such as an allergic reaction, nausea or irregular heartbeats
Umbilical Cord Blood Cells
After delivery, the
umbilical cord is detached from the new-born baby. The blood left in this cord
has hematopoietic (blood) stem cells, which can be used for treating many
diseases. The collection process is very easy and painless, with no harm to the
child or the mother. These cells are very rare; they are also found in bone
marrow. The hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have the ability to make red cells,
white cells and platelets in the blood. For the past many years, these cells
from bone marrow are used for curing blood diseases.
With Cryobanks
India, more and more expectant parents are now looking forward to
saving their baby’s cord blood. Latest technologies are used for storing the
blood cells safely for future use. In comparison to bone marrow cells, there
are many benefits of cord blood
banking. They are easy to collect and store, and are readily
available for treatments. Even the problems of Graft versus Host Disease are
less with cord blood cells. People can use them against cancerous blood
disorders or other genetic diseases. In stem cell therapy, the patient is
injected with these blood cells. They start to regenerate new cells while
replacing the withered cells in the body. The recovery process might take some
time, but the results are long-lasting.
However,
there are certain limitations too. With cord blood cells, treatments on
non-blood-related diseases are not done till date. Many researchers are looking
out for solutions by doing different experiments. Another limitation is that a
single cord blood does not have as many hematopoietic cells as found in bone
marrow. Thus, treating an adult patient with cord blood becomes difficult as
they require more HSCs. Therefore, different researches are being done for
solving this issue. In many laboratories, focus is given in increasing the
total count of HSCs by multiplying the cells. Researchers believe that in the
future, the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells is going to increase as its
potential is very high.
Stem cell
banking: Rapid increase in popularity
Stem cell banking is becoming popular day by day, as people
are discovering the power of cells against various diseases. These cells are
found in the cord blood that
remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord. After the child
takes birth, the cord is detached from the newborn as it contains the stem
cells. It is saved with proper medication. This facility of storing the cords
safely is provided by stem cell banks.
Stem cell
banking: Rapid increase in popularity
The
cord blood contains all the elements of blood: white blood cells, platelets,
red blood cells and plasma as well as hematopoietic cells. Genetic disorders
can be cured by these hematopoietic cells. Stem cells have the ability to renew
themselves into specific cells through mitotic cell division as per the
requirement of the body. Banking cells is a simple, safe and painless procedure
in which the cord blood is collected and is then transferred to the laboratory.
For long-term preservation, it is stored frozen in cryogenic storage tanks. Storing your baby’s stem cells is like a lifelong
investment towards his/her healthy future as well as for the family’s future.
This is because not only the child gets benefits, the family member having the
same blood group can also use same cells. Families that have hereditary
diseases must opt for bank stem cells.
These banks are expensive as they provide a high-quality service. The price
rate varies from one bank to the other. So before choosing any one of them, you
can compare the rates. Nowadays,
for long-term preservation, the umbilical cord is also stored. Some current
therapies like bone marrow transplantation are already using stem cells. Stem
cell banking gives the assurance of an advanced cord blood repository with an
excellent storage conditions for providing precious stem cells. They keep the
samples safe and always take proper steps to ensure quality.