Cord Blood stem cells | Current uses and future challenges

This is in continuation to list of treatable diseases using stem cells. Moving further, I want you to know what exactly the umbilical cord blood is and how it is being collected.Apart from this I am going to discuss in detail about the future aspects of cord blood stem cells.

Umbilical cord blood was once disposed of as waste material however is presently known for the immature stem cells. Further it has been utilized to treat people with certain blood disorders since 1989.

About Umbilical cord blood 

Once a child is conceived, it is attached to his mother with a cord which consequitively attached with placenta present inside mother's womb and on completion of gestation period cord blood is left in the umbilical cord and placenta. It is moderately simple to gather, with no danger to the mother or child. It contains Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC's) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells(MSC's) which are being used for the treatment of all the blood related and organ related disorders respectively.

Representation of how baby attached to the mother via Umbilical cord

Reference : http://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2013/05/22/delay-of-umbilical-cord-clamping-126098/

How cord blood is collected 

Reference : http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sampling

Cord blood medicines today 

Cord blood is utilized to treat individuals who are suffering from deadly blood related disorders,for example, leukemia, or hereditary blood infections like Fanconi paleness. The cord blood is transplanted into the patient, where the HSCs can make new cells, and help in the recovery of the patient post therapy.

Apart from the blood, cord can also be used for the extraction of Mesenchymal Stem Cells. These cells are helpful for the treatment of organ related disorders like arthritis,  blindness, Type-2 Diebities etc.

Momentum exploration: blood ailments 

A noteworthy confinement of Cord blood transplantation is that the blood acquired from umbilical cord contains lesser number of haematopoeitic stem cells as compared to bone marrow due to which at times treating grown up patients become a challenge for therapists with limited number of cells available. A transplant containing excessively few HSCs may fall flat or could prompt moderate development of fresh recruits in the body. This genuine muddling has been part of the way overcome by transplanting blood from two umbilical lines into grown-ups.  

Much research is centered around attempting to build the quantity of HSCs that can be acquired from one cord blood test by developing and duplicating the cells in the lab. This is known as "ex vivo extension". A few preparatory clinical trials utilizing this method are in progress. The outcomes so far are blended: a few outcomes propose that ex vivo development diminishes the time taken for fresh recruits cells to show up in the body after transplantation; notwithstanding, grown-up patients still seem to need blood from two different umbilical lines . More research is expected to comprehend whether there is a genuine advantage for patients, and this methodology has yet to be affirmed for routine clinical utilization. 

What's to come in future ?

Specialists accept that umbilical cord blood is an imperative wellspring though maximum capacity for treatment of blood issue is yet to be uncovered. Different types of immature cells, for example, affected pluripotent cells may turn out to be more qualified for treating non-blood-related sicknesses, however this inquiry must be replied by further research.