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Stem cells Our offer Everything about Vita 34 Treated children Service

During pregnancy, the baby bump is a major construction site. In the body of the growing child there is a huge amount of healthy and strong stem cells. For nine months, they perform unique developmental work in order to create a small human being from just a few cells. Stem cells from the umbilical cord blood could therefore be very valuable in modern medicine.

At birth, the development work of the stem cells is complete. They then retreat into their ‘headquarters’, where they remain for the entire lifespan of the body: the ones creating blood retreat into the bone marrow, and the other ones retreat into the organs. During this migration process, the blood is rich in stem cells.

After birth and the cutting of the umbilical cord, a residue of this blood remains in the umbilical cord. Until 20 years ago, the blood from the umbilical cord was only waste, until modern medicine discovered the many stem cells that can be found in it. Today, the blood in the umbilical cord at birth can be recovered and stored without any risks to the mother or child, meaning that it can be made readily available for the children of today for later treatments.

Stem cells from the umbilical cord blood are better than those from bone marrow

So far, it has been necessary to fall back onto stem cells from bone marrow for medical treatments. However, the use of stem cells from the umbilical cord blood has a comparatively wider range of benefits than the use of those found in bone marrow. Stem cells from the umbilical cord blood are unencumbered with infections, easier to recover and are available within hours in the event of the owner’s sickness. But their greatest strength is that, due to their youth, they have a far greater potential healing effect than the comparatively old stem cells from bone marrow, and they also cause fewer complications.

But there is also a downside, in that the amount of stem cells from the umbilical cord blood which can be recovered is limited. For certain diseases, such as cancer, the greater the patient’s body weight, the more stem cells become necessary. Researchers are therefore working intensively on growing stem cells. An own depot of umbilical cord blood would then be sufficient to always have young stem cells at one’s disposal – regardless of how often they are needed. In the area of regenerative medicine, however, fewer stem cells are needed, which means that even small quantities can help. The aim is to activate certain self-healing processes in the body or provide tissue replacement with the aid of stem cells.

 

 

 

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