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July is Cord Blood Awareness Month and this is the time to spread the word about how amazing newborn stem cells are. Most people do not know what cord blood is or its benefits. Today you will learn because I will take you through what Cord Blood is and why it is so beneficial. 

When a baby is born, it has the umbilical cord attached to it that's been there throughout the pregnancy. That cord is cut but the blood left inside of the umbilical cord is what is so important. This contains hematopoietic stem cells (the only cells in the blood-forming tissues that can give rise to all blood cell types and that can self-renew to produce more HSC. In a mouse and human, HSC represents up to 0.05% of cells in the bone marrow.) which means this can help save lives through transplant medicine and has been doing so for 30 years. Cord blood has been used in research for regenerative medicine and this is to help the body heal itself.

The baby’s umbilical cord is made of tissue. This tissue is home to several cell types, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which scientists think may be great at acting like a body’s emergency medical team. Umbilical cord tissue is chock-full of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), one of the most widely researched cell types in the rapidly evolving area of regenerative medicine.

Due to their special ability to transform into any type of blood cell, stem cells found within cord blood, particularly hematopoietic stem cells, are currently being used in stem cell treatments for various immune disorders and blood cancers leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell disease. Additionally, mesenchymal stem cells which can be found in umbilical cord tissue can become a host of tissue types, including nerve tissue, muscle tissue, and cartilage.

Today there are hundreds of ongoing clinical trials investigating the use of stem cells to treat common and often life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

Umbilical cord stem cells have even been used to treat severely ill COVID-19 cases as well as to treat sporting injuries on famous athletes such as Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, and David Beckham.

Regenerative medicine is an exciting new area of medicine that develops methods to regrow, repair, or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs, or tissues. Stem cells from the umbilical cord cells are considered to be extremely important for future developments within regenerative medicine.

Signing out

Cassie D. Shaw MD

     aka 

         Big Sister On Point