Storing Cord Blood? Don't Forget The Rest of the Cord!

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You've just delivered a beautiful, healthy baby! You're sweating and tired, but you’re the happiest you've been in, well, at least nine months! The doctor lays the little squirmer on your tummy as the nurse wipes her clean. In between kisses and hugs and SnapChat photos, you notice the doc cutting the umbilical cord: Snip!

And then, from the corner of your eye, you see it: The cord is removed and placed in the medical waste tray.

Wait! What?! Did you forget to bank your baby's umbilical cord?!

It takes you a moment, but then you remember that you did at least register the baby's cord blood … just in case. And now you notice the cord isn't headed for the trash but is being put in a container to be sent to a laboratory, where it will be processed then frozen for possible future medical needs.

Cord Blood: The First Step

You stored your baby's cord blood because you know that it is chock full of healthy blood progenitor stem cells. These haematopoietic stem cells (HPCs) can become either myeloid cells (monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, erythrocytes, dendritic cells, and megakaryocytes or platelets) or lymphoid cells (T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells) — these are the cell types that make up blood.

While you hope you will never need to use the cord-blood stem cells, you feel secure in the knowledge that they're there, ready to help out should your child ever need them. The HPCs are ready to repopulate the body with blood cells after treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation for conditions such as leukemia and lymphoma.

OK. Phew. You saved the blood. But what about the rest of the cord?

There's More Than Blood in The Cords

As it turns out, umbilical cord blood isn't the only source of stem cells that could help your baby (or a sibling, or another closely related family member).

The umbilical cord lining membrane — the outermost layer of the umbilical cord — is an extremely rich source of stem cells in the human body. These stem cells differentiate, not into blood, but into cells that make up solid tissue and organs. Called Mesenchymal and Epithelial stem cells, they were discovered by Professor Toan Thang Phan, Group Chief Scientist of CellResearch Corporation, the parent company of Global Cord.

What can these cells do? And how can storing them with GlobalCord help your baby?

A New Skin … and More

The epithelial stem cells in umbilical cord tissue have been differentiated into three extremely important cell types that can fight disease and promote healthy tissue:

  • Epidermal Cells:  which have been used to generate 3-Dimensional Organotypic Skin equivalent. This can be used in lieu of skin grafting

  • Liver Cells: which are being investigated as a drug discovery platform

  • Pancreatic Islet Cells: which produce insulin, the hormone lacking in diabetes mellitus

Growing New Bones

The mesenchymal stem cells found in the cord lining are even more multi-faceted. Cord lining mesenchymal stem cells have been differentiated into four different types of cells:

  • Fat cells (for surgical reconstruction, such as repairing contour defects)

  • Cartilage cells (to repair and resurface joints in patients suffering from conditions such as osteoarthritis)

  • Bone cells (to repair broken bones)

  • Nerve cells (to grow or repair nerves, or to produce key neural chemicals that may be missing, such as dopamine in Parkinson's disease)

Wound Healing

Mesenchymal stem cells have also been found to effectively heal wounds — even chronic wounds that are indolent and refuse to heal. A USFDA trial will begin shortly using Cord Lining Mesenchymal Stem Cells to heal chronic diabetic wounds.

And There's More...

While we already have multiple uses for umbilical cord lining stem cells, our research continues. CellResearch Corporation is working with collaborators all around the world to develop new therapies using umbilical cord lining stem cells. Other therapies include:

  • Corneal disease

  • Hearing and balance issues

  • Neurological issues

  • Hemophilia (using gene therapy)

  • Anti-Aging (with cosmeceuticals, CALECIM®

Reuse, Recycle, Rescue … The Right Way

You want what's best for your baby. Both today and in the future. That's why it's important to store your little one’s cord blood and umbilical cord lining in order to give baby all options should they ever be required.

Make an informed choice. Select a cord banking service that is licensed to offer complete coverage for all stem cell therapies derived from your stored cord.

Umbilical cord lining tissue banked by non-licensed cord blood banks may not provide the stem cell yield or quality that CellResearch Corporation’s proprietary and patented protocols can provide — this may affect its suitability for future therapeutic use. In addition, these blood banks and medical institutions that offer CellResearch Corporation's patented protocols — which include ALL cord lining stem cell therapies — are at risk of patent infringement.

GlobalCord is operated by CellResearch Corporation and its partners. Cords banked through GlobalCord are covered by CellResearch Corporation’s patent licensure which extends to 41 territories around the world, including the U.S.A.

Contact us now https://www.globalcordregistry.com/contact-us/ — before the cord is cut, so you and your baby can rest easy, knowing that her stem cells are ready when and if she ever needs them. You can also email us directly at info@cellresearchcorp.com.