Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

UMBILICAL CORD STEM CELLS

What are stem cells?
Stem cells are unspecialized cells found in the peripheral blood, bone marrow, blood vessels, brain tissue, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, skin and liver, and they are capable of renewing themselves through cell division. Under certain physiologic conditions, they can be modified to become tissue or organ-specific cells with special functions. Given their unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer new possibilities for treating diseases.

Stem cells collected today can open doors tomorrow.

Congratulations on the precious new life you are about to welcome!

In this joyful and exciting time, however, the number of decisions you now face can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to safeguarding your family’s health and well-being. This is where collecting your child’s stem cells come in.

Stem cells are the body’s “master” cells because they give rise to all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. The stem cells’ ability to differentiate, or change, into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds tremendous promise for treating and curing some of the most common diseases such as heart disease, cancers, stroke, and Alzheimer’s.

Each year, new health care applications for the use of umbilical cord stem cells, in particular, are discovered. Banking or storing your child’s umbilical cord stem cells, then, increases your family’s access to many health care procedures in the future and, thus, may improve your family’s quality of life in times of illness.

Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Collection, Processing and Storage

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth. With the cord blood banking process, rich stem cells found in your baby’s cord blood can be saved for future medical needs.

Preserving your baby’s lifesaving cord blood stem cells will provide you and your family a powerful medical resource for treating many serious diseases in the future.

Cord blood collection is only done at birth, however, making it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If not done at this time, the cord blood and its stem cells cannot be preserved and stored.

Process

The collection is done at the delivery suite. There is no pain or risk to the mother or child during the collection process since the blood is taken from the cord once it has been clamped and cut. This blood is then placed in blood bags similar to the ones used during blood donation. The collection is safe for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries.
After the collection, the blood will be brought to the laboratory for processing. There, it will be
cryogenically stored under temperatures of -180°C. This system of storage maintains the cell’s viability and integrity.

The Medical City’s Unique Process

At The Medical City, we do a more comprehensive collection of stem cells—5 times more comprehensive compared with other entities. Other than the collection of umbilical cord blood, we also obtain other stem cells from the following sources during the delivery:

a. Wharton’s jelly - stripped from the umbilical cord
b. The umbilical cord itself - sliced to obtain its veins and arteries
c. Amniotic membrane - obtained from the inner lining of the placenta
d. Placenta - inner portions are obtained

The stem cells obtained from all 5 sources are cultured to increase their number. This unique
expansion process offers a major advantage over existing techniques used by other umbilical cord blood collection entities because of the higher number and viability of the cells collected.
The following are the applications for stem cells from the above sources:

a. Wharton’s jelly - used for treating lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and polyarteritis nodusa
b. Veins and arteries from the cord - used to create collateral blood distribution for patients with myocardial infarction as well as patients with stroke, and can form micro blood vessels or recreate micro circulation
c. Amniotic membrane - used to cultivate corneal cells for corneal transplantation
d. Placenta - used for burns, accelerating wound healing

The Advantages of Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

Usefulness during Treatment. Cord blood stem cells have a better chance of being an acceptable match for the recipient because they are immunologically immature and undeveloped, especially in comparison to other sources of adult stem cells such as bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Improved Survival. The immune cells in cord blood are “younger” and are more likely than bone marrow to be a suitable match between family members. This is important because some studies have shown that survival rates double when the patient receives a stem cell transplant from a relative.

Readiness. The stored stem cells can be processed quickly for use in the treatment of your baby, family members or any other matched individual. Each year, new applications for the use of umbilical cord stem cells in cancer and degenerative diseases are discovered.

Current Applications

• Oncology – Breast, Lung, Liver, Colon, Ovarian, Kidney, Prostate, Multiple Myeloma, Leukemia, Head and Neck
• Neurology – Parkinson’s, Dystonia, Alzheimer’s, Spinal Cord and Nerve Injuries
• Cardiology – Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Post-Myocardial Infarction
• Endocrinology – Diabetes, Diabetic Complications, Metabolic Disorders
• Hepatology – Cirrhosis, Hepatitis
• Nephrology – Acute and Chronic Renal Diseases
• Orthopedics – Bone and Cartilage Regeneration, Osteoporosis
• Ophthalmology – Cornea Damage, Retinal Diseases, Glaucoma
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Burns, Trauma
• Wellness – Disease Prevention, Aesthetics, Dermatology

How can I have my cord stem cells collected?

1. Call The Medical City’s Cord Stem Cells Program Representative at (632) 988-1000 / (632) 988-7000 local 6307 or 6551 and inform him of your interest in enrolling in the program. He will inform you of the details of the program, its fees and what to prepare for the procedure.
2. You can enroll at 28 to 30 weeks (7 - 7.5 mos) of pregnancy by having the maternity screening tests (CMV-IgG, CMV-IgM, HIV, HCV, HBsAg, RPR) and paying for the enrollment fee. An Informed Consent form signed by you and your Attending Physician is also required for enrollment. Once you have been approved, you will be given an enrollment card.
3. At the Delivery Suite, show your enrollment card and inform your nurses that you are enrolled in the Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Program.
4. At the time of delivery, the Regenerative Medicine laboratory staff will be waiting with the cord stem cells collection kit.
5. At the time of discharge, the remaining cost of the package, including the first year storage, will be charged along with the other hospital expenses incurred during admission.
6. A certificate of full payment and statement of account will be given indicating your account details and the date for renewal of storage.
7. The Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Program Representative will call you 2 months before the end of your contract to remind you to pay the yearly storage fee if you wish to maintain storage of the cord stem cells for another year.

Sources:
Journals:
- Collection of Fetal Blood Stem Cell Research and Therapy, University Hospital, Newark, New Jersey, USA
- Factors Associated with Parameters of Engraftment Potential of Umbilical Cord Blood, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cell, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Books:
- Cord Blood Characteristics: Role in Stem Cell Transplantation
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy: The Gift of Healing from Healthy Newborns
- Cancer Medicine Stem Cell Information:
- The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research
- https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

Note:   This information is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis or treatment.   If you or someone you know have any of the symptoms mentioned above, it is advisable to seek professional help.

REGENERATIVE MEDICINE PROGRAM

INSTITUTE OF PERSONALIZED MOLECULAR MEDICINE
12/F Nursing Tower, The Medical City
Tel. No. (632) 988-1000 / (632) 988-7000 ext. 6307 / 6551

CENTER FOR PATIENT PARTNERSHIP
Tel. No. (632) 988-1000 / (632) 988-7000 ext. 6444