Although there has been much written and said about cord blood and much debate surrounding the collection, storing and use of cord blood, the fact remains that the stem cells contained in cord blood have the present day ability to save lives and the future possibility to cure diseases. The first successful cord blood transplant was performed in France in 1988 and since that time, such transplants have proven themselves to be highly successful and show promise for the future.
Where Does Cord Blood Come From?
Cord blood comes from the placenta and umbilical cord of a newborn infant. Taking of this blood poses no risk to either the child or the mother because the blood is taken immediately after birth and after the baby no longer needs either the umbilical cord or placenta to survive. While the gathering of cord blood does need parental consent it causes no discomfort to the child or mother and would simply be disposed of with the umbilical cord and the placenta.
What is so Special about Cord Blood?
Cord blood consists of stem cells which serve as a blood factory. Stem cells have the capacity to reproduce both oxygen carrying red blood cells and infection and disease fighting white blood cells. Stem cells can permanently reconstitute the entire blood system in patients suffering from various life threatening diseases making the blood and the immune system healthy and able to combat diseases and prolong or save the patients life.
Because the antibodies carried in cord blood comes from newborns who do not have a fully developed immune system, they make a good option for transplants as they have less chance of being rejected by the patients own blood, giving life saving transplants a better chance at being successful.
Who Is Most Likely To Receive Cord Blood Transplants
Cord blood transplants are used for people suffering from various conditions. At present these transplants can be used to treat over 80 diseases. Two thirds of all umbilical cord transplants are used to treat malignant conditions such as leukemia and the other third is used in the treatment of genetic blood disorders.
Currently cord blood transplants are used more often in children than adults simply because the amount of blood that can be taken from the umbilical cord is in such small amounts. However, scientists are working at finding a way to reproduce the stem cells from cord blood in laboratories to increase the ability of these cells to be used more in transplants in adults.
What Diseases Are Successfully Treated By Cord Blood Right Now?
At the current time Umbilical cord blood transplants have proven successful in the treatment of various types of leukemia often taking the place of more elusive bone marrow transplants and making it possible for more leukemia victims to be treated than ever before.
Cord blood transplants have also shown to be successful at treating various types of anemia including severe A plastic anemia. These transplants have also been effective in treating Pure red cell aplasia, severe Immune deficiency and Sickle Cell.
Where Are Umbilical Cord Blood Transplants Done
Umbilical cord blood transplants are being done in various hospitals world wide. Countries that are now using cord blood for transplants include:
* India
* Spain
* United Kingdom
* Canada
* Brazil
* Japan
* France
* Netherlands
* S. Africa
* Mexico
* Sweden
* Saudi Arabia
* United States
In the United States there are more than 60 hospitals and Medical centers that use cord blood transplants to treat patients with life threatening condition with more hospitals added each year. Some of these hospitals are:
* Cancer Institute of New Jersey
* Cedar Sinai Medical center
* Childrens Hospital of Los Angels
* Childrens Hospital if Orange county
* Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and Pittsburg
* University of Mississippi
* University of Michigan Medical Center
Why Choose Cord Blood For Transplants?
There are various reasons why doctors may choose cord blood over bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants. Some of these reasons include:
* Umbilical cord blood may be more readily available than bone marrow. Since cord blood is stored in a blood banks where it is available to those in need it is often readily available where as bone marrow transplant depends on finding a person that matches the patient and then removing the bone marrow for use.
* Cord Blood may also allow for more tolerant matching. With bone marrow and peripheral blood transplants you need a perfect match in order for the transplant to be a success. With cord blood transplants while a match is still needed a less than perfect match can result in success making it possible for more people to actually be matched faster, thus saving more lives.
* Less Chance of rejection. In many cases transplants fail due to what is known as Graft Verus Host disease. This disease can run from minor to life threatening as the patients body fights to reject the transplant. It has been found that when using umbilical cord blood there is less chance of GVHD occurring and when it does it is less severe. This increases the likelihood of a successful transplant and a return to a healthier life for the patient.
While umbilical cord blood transplants are proving themselves to be invaluable at saving lives there may be some reasons why currently doctors choose not to use these transplants. These reasons include:
* Not enough blood forming cells. While cord blood transplants are a viable option in cases involving younger children. There simply may not be enough blood forming cells in the unit of cord blood for the size of the patient.
* The doctor may determine that the the time it takes cord blood cells to engraft (start growing inside the patient) may present too much of a risk of infection for a particular patient.
* Since Cord blood transplants are a newer option some doctors may feel less confident in using a cord blood transplant than bone marrow or peripheral blood transplants simply because they are newer.
However, more and more doctors are finding that umbilical cord blood transplants are a viable option in more and more situations and are improving the chances of successful transplants for people where donors may not be difficult to find. As more and more cord blood transplants are done and as the success of these transplants grows there will be more of these types of transplants.
The Future Of Cord Blood
While there is enough current evidence to suggest that umbilical cord blood transplants are a viable treatment options that have the potential of saving many lives, the future looks even more promising. Doctors believe and are working on the possibility of cord blood transplants to help people recover from many various other conditions and diseases for which at this time there is simply no cure. Some of the conditions that doctors believe cord blood may help are:
* Heart disease
* Diabetes
* Parkinson’s disease
* Alzheimer’s
* Strokes
* Spinal Cord Injuries
* ALS
* Osteoporosis
* Liver disease
* Multiple Sclerosis
However, in order to develop treatments for these conditions and diseases more cord blood is needed both for testing and for use in treating patients who have life threatening conditions. In order to collect, test and store large quantities of cord blood, public cord blood banks are going to have to make a concentrated effort to collect umbilical cord blood.
As things stand right now, there are only a select few hospitals from which this cord blood can be taken leaving literally hundreds of thousands of possible units of cord blood to simply be tossed away with the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby’s birth. Until it is possible to collect cord blood from each and every child birthing facility the options of testing and finding cord blood matches will be limited.
Donating Cord Blood
Parents who are about to give birth who want to donate their baby’s cord blood in the hope of saving someone’s life may simply not be able to do so. With so few public cord banks at this time donating your baby’s cord blood is not often an option at every hospital. Until and unless more funding becomes available to increase the number of public cord blood banks there will be little most people can do to help those who may desperately need this type of transplant.
For now helping to increase awareness for the need of cord blood is essential. Supporting legislation that will help to fund the collection and storing of cord blood is also important. Keep in mind that at this moment and time while umbilical cord blood is not a miracle cure it has the potential of saving thousands of lives and increasing the quality of life for many more families in this country and around the world.