August 12, 2015
It may be hard to believe, but umbilical cord blood banking has only been around for a few decades or so. However, it is quickly growing in popularity, as more and more families are seeing the potential cord blood and cord tissue banking benefits and making the decision to preserve the stem cells contained therein through CariCord, one of the best choices for family cord banking.
Stem cell research is being pursued to discover new cord tissue benefits. Cord blood can presently treat more than 80 diseases, but the discovery of new treatments and therapies makes utilizing family cord blood services a more popular choice for expecting parents. When a programs wins an award or receives a new accreditation, it is good news for the entire family cord banking industry, as it indicates that umbilical cord blood banking is a viable field that will continue to grow in the future.
One such program that recently received a high honor was the University of Virginia Cancer Center’s Stem Cell Transplant Program. This program received international accreditation for its use of stem cells and bone marrow to treat blood cancers in patients. As most of you may already know, cord blood is a rich source of these stem cells that the University of Virginia used to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. These diseases can be treated via cells collected by family cord blood services, whether they are the patient’s own cells collected through umbilical cord tissue banking, or cord blood cells donated to a public bank. If you don’t know the difference between public/private banking or are wondering, “What is cord tissue?” explore the “about” section of our website for more info.
The Cancer Center is a part of the UVA Health System, based in Charlottesville, VA. The center is accredited by the Commission on Cancer and is one of the 69 National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers in the country for research, prevention, and treatment options. The stem cell transplant program at UVA is composed of more than 20 doctors, nurses, and technical staff who evaluate and monitor patients in an outpatient clinic. They also perform stem cell transplants, some of which utilize cord blood stem cells, in a dedicated inpatient unit within the UVA health system in Virginia. If you are a patient of this clinic, you just might receive a cord blood transplant that was collected through the family cord banking program of CariCord!
August 10, 2015
If you are familiar with umbilical cord blood banking, you probably know that there are many benefits to this service. In fact, stem cells collected through family cord banking can be used to treat more than 80 different diseases, including many types of cancers and blood disorders. They also show potential in clinical trials for bone and cartilage regeneration and repair. When stem cells collected by family cord blood services were joined with a hyaluronic acid hydrogel composite, it showed remarkable results in rat and rabbit models.
For this study, a full-thickness chondral injury was intentionally created in the trochlear groove of each knee in 6 minipigs. Three weeks later, an osteochondral defect, 5 mm wide by 10 mm deep, was created, followed by an 8-mm-wide and 5-mm-deep reaming. A mixture of 4% hyaluronic acid hydrogel composite and 1.5 ml of mesenchymal stem cells collected through umbilical cord blood banking was then transplanted into the defect in the right knee. The same defect created in the left knee was left untreated as a control. Twelve weeks after this procedure, the degree of cartilage regeneration was evaluated. The transplanted knee resulted in superior and more complete hyaline cartilage regeneration compared with the control knee. This showed researchers that, in this particular animal model, human cord blood collected via family cord blood services showed consistent potential for cartilage regeneration, which could serve as a stepping stone to a human clinical trial in the future.
This study shows the potential benefits of family cord banking as stem cell research continues to progress and find new uses for cord blood. For those asking, “What is cord tissue?” the CariCord website contains a wealth of information, as both cord blood and umbilical cord tissue can be collected and stored through our family cord banking program. There are many potential cord tissue benefits under review, as it is also a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells. CariCord offers a special where parents can combine cord blood banking and umbilical cord tissue banking into one package for a special discounted price that costs less than each individual service does when combined.
August 07, 2015
If you are familiar with umbilical cord blood banking, you probably know that the cord blood of newborns carries many benefits, as it is a rich source of stem cells that can be used to treat more than 80 diseases, including many blood disorders and anemia types.
One of the disorders that umbilical cord blood banking can potentially treat is aplastic anemia. This is a condition that occurs when the body ceases to produce enough new blood cells. It leaves one feeling fatigued, and there is an increased risk of uncontrolled bleeding and infections. Though aplastic anemia is a rare condition, it affects thousands of people annually, which is why stem cell researchers are looking for new ways to treat this blood disorder using cells collected by family cord banking services that also offer umbilical cord tissue banking. Aplastic anemia is very serious, and can take place at any age. It may occur suddenly, or slowly over a period of time. Potential treatments include doctor-prescribed medications, blood transfusions, or stem cell transplants.
Recently, registration data from the Japanese Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation was used to analyze the outcome of 55 children with severe aplastic anemia, who received a second hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The 5-year overall survival and failure-free survival after this were 82.9% and 81.2%, respectively. Future research will determine if cord blood stem cells are an effective long-term method to treat serve aplastic anemia, though the results look good so far.
August 05, 2015
It is estimated that there are more than 130 million births worldwide each year. Some of these parents choose to save their newborn’s umbilical cord blood and tissue through family cord blood services. Because many more do not choose family cord banking to salvage valuable stem cells found in the umbilical cord, which are otherwise discarded as medical waste, CariCord is seeking to raise awareness of the many cord blood and tissue banking benefits.
The American Stroke Association states that, in the U.S., a stroke occurs in roughly one in every 3,500 births and is one of the leading causes of death for children between the ages of 1 and 19. Of the children that survive a stroke, approximately 60% are left with permanent neurological deficits. These are typically cerebral palsy and hemiparesis or hemiplegia, partial or full paralysis on one side of the body or another. The risk is greater around birth, the time in which umbilical cord blood and tissue banking would be performed. What is cord tissue? It is the lining of the umbilical cord, a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells that carry many cord tissue benefits.
Recently, an FDA-regulated clinical trial has been launched, in order to investigate the use of stem cells collected through umbilical cord blood banking to treat children diagnosed with perinatal or prenatal pediatric stroke. These cells would be collected by family cord blood services, in order to fully utilize the cord blood and tissue benefits. Once this clinical trial is complete, families may be able to use their child’s cells, collected through family cord blood and tissue banking, to treat pediatric stroke in infants and children. Many can benefit from umbilical cord blood and tissue banking, both kids and parents alike.
Stroke symptoms, prevention efforts, risk factors, and treatment are often different in children than adults. Because of this, stem cells collected through umbilical cord blood banking would be used differently to treat children than the manner in which adult stroke victims are treated. Scientists who are aware of the numerous cord blood and tissue banking benefits need to conduct more research in order to better understand how to properly diagnose and treat strokes in children using stem cell therapies.
