The Cord Blood Stem Cell Advantage
Stem cells are found in the placenta and umbilical cord. These stem cells generate blood cells: red cells that carry oxygen, white cells that fight disease and platelets that help blood clots.
Stem cells are used in transplantation when a damaged or diseased blood system needs to be replaced with a healthy system. Bone marrow stem cells have traditionally been used, but cord blood stem cells have some definite advantages.
Because stem cells from cord blood are collected at birth, they are less likely to be contaminated with viruses or with environmental toxins. Because they are so young, they may also be more effective at replacing the immune system than stem cells extracted from bone marrow taken later in life.
But most importantly, because they come from your child, these stem cells are guaranteed to be an identical match for that child. There is no danger of rejection and no need to use additional risky drugs to prevent rejection.
The patient has been traditionally required to look for a suitable match from a live donor. The closer the match the greater the chances for survival and successful recovery. Because of the wide variety of stem cell structures, only a small number of patients find a donor. If the donor and recipient are not matched up perfectly, there can be serious complications.
There is no guarantee that there will be enough compatible bone marrow to perform a transplantation. In seventy percent of the cases, a family member is not a suitable donor.
Finding a match; is complicated and time consuming. Because of the often long waiting period, there is a chance of the patient developing serious side effects while waiting for the procedure.
