Use Of Human Stem Cell For Specific Areas

Very interestingly, human embryonic stem cells have the wonderful capacity to differentiate themselves into a very large variety of other cell types. This is a great source that will help overcome a lot of different human diseases in the future. A lot of studies have already been done to identify that and the possible use of it.

Apparently, this differentiating capacity of human embryonic stem cells can be reproduced in vitro conditions by adding various factors. Stem cells of good quality can be found in the umbilical cord blood at birth. The cord blood collection and then storage can be done by a stem cells bank or an umbilical cord blood bank for future use on the new born baby if it ever gets a disease like leukaemia or anything else.

You can now find more and more of those banks with some offering different things like for example to store the stem cells in two physically separated locations to protect you in the event of a disaster.

Whereas bone marrow collection is a long procedure that requires anaesthesia, cord blood collection is an easy process that is pain free for the mother and the newly born baby.

On top of that, stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord blood have a much higher rate of engraftment than stem cells extracted from the bone marrow, which simply means that stem cells from the cord blood are better accepted by the body. Interestingly, if you decide to get your child’s cord blood into a stem cell bank or cord blood bank, it appears that it has at least a one in four chance of matching a sibling which makes it even more appealing.

Using those human embryonic stem cells really represents a challenge in biology and medicine that could greatly help cure some diseases. As more and more people work in this area and make discoveries every now and then, stem cells could be widely used in the future. Some research even say that children with heart problems could be saved by getting new heart valves built by using stem cells taken from their own umbilical cord blood. Recently, a little girl from New-Zealand who suffered birth related brain injury was successfully treated with her own cord blood. Her cord blood was re infused to help her. Those only are a few examples of what could be done in the future.