In recent years, there has been increasing publicity about cord blood stem cell preservation, and the prospect of stem cell therapy is great. The stem cells in cord blood are not only abundant, but also have relatively mild immune rejection, making it a very good source of stem cells.
Many new parents are then faced with the question: Is it necessary to preserve umbilical cord blood for their child at the time of birth? This question, too, is widely held in our healthcare community.
What is cord blood and cord blood stem cells
Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after the fetus is delivered and severed at the time of delivery. Cord blood stem cells are stem cells present in the blood of the umbilical cord and placenta. The main component is hematopoietic stem cells, which can differentiate into various blood cells.
Human research on the application of cord blood has been conducted for decades because cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells that can rebuild the hematopoietic and immune functions of the body and is currently one of the important sources of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation.
Cord blood stem cell transplantation can be used to treat hematologic malignancies (e.g. leukemia, lymphoma), bone marrow hematopoietic failure (e.g. aplastic anemia), congenital diseases such as thalassemia, inborn metabolic diseases, and autoimmune diseases, among others.
Natural advantages of umbilical cord blood stem cells
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood have a natural advantage over stem cells from adult bone marrow. Unlike transplantation of other solid organs, hematopoietic stem cells can differentiate various blood cells, including lymphocytes, and rebuild the body’s immune system, so the main challenge after transplantation is the strong and rapid immune rejection.
In order to avoid lethal graft-versus-host effects, in addition to drug control, the choice of stem cell source is very important, with a 25% match rate between siblings (related brothers and sisters) and a 1 in 100,000 match rate between unrelated people.
Not only is the concentration of stem cells in cord blood high (more than 10 times that of bone marrow stem cells) and the quality is excellent (low viral infection rate), but the important advantage is that the rejection after transplantation is relatively mild and does not require a perfect match for successful transplantation.
Will the collection of cord blood affect the mother and child?
Cord blood collection is different from traditional adult blood stem cell collection. It does not require additional anesthesia or long time peripheral blood stem cell collection, is painless and has no side effects, and is performed at the time of umbilical cord disconnection, so there is no adverse effect on the mother and child.
How is cord blood stored?
For the same allogeneic HSCT, stem cells collected from adult bone marrow or peripheral blood are generally not frozen and are collected now, as freezing and storage can damage the activity of some stem cells.
For example, in allogeneic transplantation for leukemia patients, the patient is first pretreated with chemotherapy to empty the bone marrow, and when everything is ready, the donor donates the stem cells, which are stored and transported at room temperature and transfused back into the patient within a short period of time (so there are extreme cases where the donor backs out and endangers the patient’s life).
Cord blood, on the other hand, is stored in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees Celsius, which theoretically allows for long-term storage and rapid re-tempering to human body temperature for transfusion back into the patient when used.
If the cord blood is kept for its own use, an annual fee is required; if it is donated, a consent form is signed before delivery and it is donated free of charge in the cord blood banks of local blood centers.
Is it possible for cord blood to be used by itself?
Currently, there are still few cases where cord blood saved at birth is applied to the preserver himself.
According to statistics, of the millions of cord blood stem cells saved by the three major cord blood banking institutions in the United States to date, no more than 300 cases have been used for their own use, and even more rarely, only a few dozen cases have been used to cure hematologic diseases such as leukemia and reoccurrence.
The main reasons are.
Low incidence of hematologic diseases, resulting in stored cord blood that may have been stored at low temperature and not really worked;
The volume of cord blood is too small, and a single copy of cord blood is usually only suitable for transplantation in patients under 40 kg, which is not enough for transplantation in adult onset;
The patient’s own cord blood may also carry these genes, so transplantation with his own cord blood is unpredictable.
Making the most of cord blood
The greatest benefit of preserving cord blood is for other pediatric patients to have the opportunity to be transplanted. Cord blood banks, similar to the Chinese Bone Marrow Bank, are now being set up in blood centers in all provinces of China to give hope to more pediatric patients who need cord blood stem cells, and cord blood stem cell transplants have been successful in saving many children with blood disorders;
There are also clinical cases where a child with a hematopoietic disorder needs a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, but it is difficult to find a donor; in this case, the parents can conceive and deliver again and collect the cord blood of a healthy baby to save the life of a brother or sister.
Medical technology is advancing rapidly and stem cell technology is developing rapidly, and cord blood stem cells are a valuable stem cell resource. In the future, cord blood stem cells may be used to treat stem cell injury-related diseases and immunotherapy.
If you are planning ahead and are financially well-off, you can save your child’s cord blood; if you do not plan to save it yourself, then it is recommended that you donate your child’s cord blood for free to help others without harming yourself.