About stem cells

Stem cell contains information about all 240 tissues of an adult organism, and at the same time is the source of one hundred trillion of cells that constitute the organism of adult person.

Recently the remarkable ability of stem cells has been discovered: being introduced to organism, they stimulate own cells of the organism, thus transforming them from passive survivors into active constructive state.

Outlook of own organs and tissues creation from own stem cells is a revolution in medicine. In the course of time transplantation of foreign organs will be stopped completely. Cellular therapy with own stem cells is the only civilized way in modern medicine that does not provoke obstacles - either ethical or religious, and is justified morally.

How many stem cells are needed for medical purposes?

There is an issue of isolated stem cells’ sufficiency to produce medical effect along the whole umbilical cord blood research. It was proved by research that even small amount of stem cells is enough for restoration of damaged organ. According to the results of the research on myocardium with experimental infarction the number of stem cells in the damaged organ was too little for the observed volume of restoration. In such a way it is possible to conclude that solely stem cells presence facilitated new vessels formation in the damaged site and in cardiac muscle itself.

Many scientists tried to calculate an optimal dose of umbilical cord blood. Although these calculations, without doubts, remain approximate, and in fact transplantation results remain the only proof of adequacy of calculations, it is assumed that transplantation of 1 ml of umbilical cord blood per 1 kg of the recipient’s body weight should be considered more than enough. If this assumption is correct, it is possible to use umbilical cord blood for adult transplantation as well.

According to the data of Cryobank of the Institute of Cellular Therapy, about one fourth of umbilical cord blood samples contains enough stem cells for transplantations to the patients with body weight from 50 to 100 kg.

What are stem cells needed for?

Stem cells that in the majority of cases are used for treatment of children with leukemia, may save thousands of adults with the same disease every year, while it is difficult enough to find bone marrow donors.

70% of patients do not have identical cells for transplantation. For patients from national minorities the situation turns out to be even more dramatic.

Stem cells are already used for treatment of more than 70 different diseases. Most frequently stem cells are used in therapy of malignant blood diseases. In those cases their presence cannot be overestimated. Stem cells are the only most precious material for blood restoration of a sick child. In some cases the families give birth to second child to obtain stem cells to save the life of the first child.

One can give a classical example: in 1988 Elian Gluckman in St. Louis Clinic in Paris conducted the first operation in transplantation of umbilical cord blood to a six years old girl with Fankoni anemia. In 1994 the journal “Biotechnology” described such transplantation with following words: “Marissa Ayalu, a young girl with chronic myeloid leukemia was condemned to death. The search in the Register of the US National Program of Donor’s Bone Marrow has not found appropriate sample that could serve as a source of hemopoietic cells for restoration of hemapoietic and lymphoid systems of the young patient, who underwent aggressive chemotherapy. Marissa parents resolved to give birth to a second child hoping that his umbilical cord blood would serve the source of hemapoietic stem cells being rather antigen-compatible to avoid divestiture after transplantation to the sick child. At the beginning of this year Avissa, who saved the life of her sister has been present at Marissa wedding. This experimental method that has not been ever used in humans, really worked”.

In 1991 first transplantations of umbilical cord blood were provided for treatment of children with such oncological diseases as chronic myeloid leukemia. In 2000 cord blood cells were successfully administered to an unrelated recipient – that was a ten-month old boy with ancestral mucopolysacharidosis of II type (Hunter). In the two following years the boy has been observed with normal rate of physical and mental development. Analogous data were obtained by other researchers as well.

Besides medical abilities stem cells can be used as potent immunostimulator for organism toning in continuous infections, chronic fatigue, and collapse of vital power.

Stem cells are successfully used in cosmetology for rejuvenation, increase of vital tone, prophylaxis of premature aging, and memory improvement.

Unexpected application of stem cells has been discovered in sport medicine. They turned out to be the only natural factor for restoration of sportsman’s organism, healing of sport traumas, ligaments and sinew disruptions, and muscular traumas. According to the opinion of the leading specialists in the nearest 3-5 years one of the points in insurance policy of elite sportsmen will be the following condition: there should be obligatory conservation of umbilical cord blood at child’s birth.

Umbilical cord blood collection, safety, and volume

It is possible to collect umbilical cord blood from placenta located in uterus yet, and even when it is already has been born, because in the first 30 minutes after birth the blood in the cord and in placenta does not coagulate. The volume of umbilical cord blood is, on average, 50-110 ml (up to 200 ml).

If time from the moment of birth till newborn’s separation from placenta is not more then 30 seconds the gathered blood volume, on average, is 25-40 ml bigger that in later child’s separation. It was noticed that early separation of the child from afterbirth does not have any negative consequences for the newborn.

Procedure of the umbilical cord blood collection is absolutely safe; it is performed without physical contact with mother and newborn.

Umbilical cord blood – is the most inexpensive and safe source of stem cells.