What are umbilical cord blood stem cells?
Stem cells are the progenitors of all cells in the human body and therefore of all tissue. They are “undifferentiated” cells, which means they have the ability to become many different cell/tissue types with specialised functions, such as skin, blood, muscle, bone, brain tissue or organ.
Stem cells are found throughout the body in specific tissues and importantly in umbilical cord blood.
The stem cells found in cord blood are particularly potent and versatile and can be collected using a very straightforward and safe technique.
What’s the difference between these stem cells and embryonic stem cells?
Cord blood stem cells are classed as “adult stem cell” and scientists believe they are the closest to embryonic stems cells in terms of their ability to form new cell types and tissues. This is why there is such scientific and medical interest in the potential of cord blood stem cells to treat disease.
Embryonic stem cells by contrast are found in very early embryos up to a few weeks after conception. These cells have the potential to form any of the tissue types that make up the human body.
What is regenerative medicine?
Scientists have shown that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells which can go on to produce many different types of specialised cells – skin cells, nerve cells and blood cells for example. In regenerative medicine, these could be used to replace or repair cells that have been damaged by injury or disease. It’s thought that many potential future treatments may rely on using your own stem cells.I’ve heard that storing my baby’s cells may help if he or she develops a blood disorder like childhood leukaemia. Is that true?
It is likely that your baby’s own cord blood stem cells may not be suitable to treat blood disorders such as childhood leukaemia. In fact, the nature of childhood leukaemia means that stem cells from a matched donor (an allogeneic transplant) are more likely to be of use than your child’s own stem cells (an autologous transplant). Increasing the availability of cord blood stem cells for allogeneic transplants for other patients who needs them, including your family, is one reason why it’s beneficial to store your baby’s cord blood stem cells in our bank with its growing register of available tissue typed cord blood units.What can cord blood stem cells be used to treat now?
Stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood are used today to treat a number of blood diseases, including leukaemia and anaemia. More interesting though is the potential – early results indicate that cord blood stem cells could have future possibilities in the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Current research includes stem cell treatment for heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, strokes, osteoporosis, skin burns, osteoarthritis and tendon, muscle and ligament injuries.What do allogeneic and autologous mean?
These are both terms used to describe transplants. An allogeneic transplant involves taking donated stem cells from one person transplanting them to another person. An autologous transplant means that your own cells have been taken and transplanted back to you.
At the moment almost all stem cell transplants are allogeneic, as very few people have stem cells stored for their own use.
What’s the likelihood of my child, or a member of my family, needing a stem cell transplant?
It depends on the illness and the age of the patient and the timeframe over which you access the likelihood of needing a transplant.
If we look at a 20 year horizon, the quoted chances of a person needing an:
• autologous transplant (using their own stem cells) before the age of 20 has been estimated at between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 20,000.
• allogeneic transplant (using donated stem cells) is estimated at between 1 in 1,700 and 1 in 20,000.
However, this data only assesses the probability over a period of twenty years. If we were to look at an assessment over the course of a typical lifetime up to age 70, the probability that a person will require a transplant of their own stem cells drops dramatically to 1 in 450 and the likelihood of requiring any transplant, from yourself or a sibling, is now 1 in 220.
Why does a cord blood stem cell unit have to be matched?
Just as everyone has a blood type, so everyone has a tissue type – and stem cells are a type of tissue. The human body is designed to reject anything it sees as foreign, and so it’ll fight off a tissue type it doesn’t recognise. The closer matched tissues types are the less likelihood there is of the body rejecting a transplant.What is public cord blood banking?
In a public bank, parents donate their child’s cord blood stem cells in much the same way as people donate blood – it’s all given away for use by other people. No-one is charged for donating cord blood stem cells in the public bank. There’s a public cord blood bank in England operated by the Haemopoietic Stem Cells Services Division of the National Blood Service, and another in Scotland operated by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.If I had a condition that would benefit from a cord blood stem cell transplant, couldn’t I simply get units provided by the NHS?
Only if there was a matched unit available and there is an acknowledged shortage of transplant cord blood units for transplant. By creating another source of cord blood units, Virgin Health Bank is increasing the likelihood of people finding a suitable match. And if regenerative medicine advances as predicted, people may also need access to their own, stored umbilical cord stem cells.Who will collect my cord blood?
The regulations insist that cord blood is collected by an appropriately qualified person such as a midwife, a nurse, a phlebotomist or a doctor with suitable training and experience.Is it true that collecting cord blood distracts the midwife from helping with the birth?
Normally, collecting umbilical cord blood is a straightforward process and shouldn’t interfere with looking after the mother and baby. It usually takes 5–10 minutes and should be undertaken within about 30 minutes of the baby’s birth. However the wellbeing of the mother and baby is always the main priority, if there was any possibility that the collection could interfere with the care of either, the collection should not take place.What if I’m planning to give birth in a hospital where they can’t or won’t collect the cord blood?
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the government body that licences companies which store human tissue in the UK, recommend that only appropriately qualified people (such as midwives, nurses, phlebotomists or doctors) may do the collection. If the person doesn’t fit this description, we can't process or store the umbilical cord blood unit. Not all maternity units have the same view about cord blood collection. If you're concerned, or are having problems arranging the collection of your baby’s cord blood call us and will do our best to assist you.Are cord blood collections always successful?
Every birth is uniquely special so there can be no guarantees – the wellbeing of both mother and baby must always take top priority. The collection is a straightforward technique and, in most cases, the cord blood unit is tested and stored successfully. If there is a problem we will get in touch with you straightaway and do everything possible to make sure you enjoy the best possible outcome.What UK rules and regulations cover the collection and storage of cord blood stem cells?
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible for the authorisation and licensing of private and public banks engaged in the storage of human tissue. In addition the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) run a voluntary accreditation scheme.
We operate to the highest international standards – our service is MHRA accredited as a cord blood bank and licensed by the HTA. It is a legal requirement to hold a valid HTA licence to provide this service. This means that our facilities are fully compliant with UK regulations and have been inspected and approved by independent, government-approved experts on cord blood stem cell storage.
If you’d like to know more about these professional bodies, please visit their websites on:
www.hta.gov.uk
www.mhra.gov.uk
