The placenta is a temporary organ that accompanies pregnancy. It is implanted in the wall of the uterus, where it receives nutrients and oxygen from the mother's blood and eliminates waste from the fetus. The placenta also serves as a barrier that filters out some substances that could harm the fetus. The placenta is connected to the fetus via the umbilical cord which is, of course, the lifeline to the fetus. When the baby is delivered, the placenta is delivered afterward, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth. This temporary organ contains placental stem cells which, like cord blood stem cells, can be collected only at the time of birth.
Placenta-derived stem cells are those stem cells that remain in the placenta after cord blood collection. The placenta is a particularly rich source of CD34+ hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells, similar to those found in cord blood. CD34+ cells can transform into many other cell types including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Stem cell transplants with a higher number of CD34+ cells have been associated with an improved rate of successful engraftment.
LifebankUSA's patented stem-cell collection and storage service makes collecting the placenta as easy as possible for both you and your health care provider. Once cord blood has been collected and the placenta is delivered, your doctor simply puts the intact placenta into the designated collection bag found in your LifebankUSA kit. There is no additional procedure—we do everything necessary to isolate and collect the placenta—derived stem cells when we receive the placenta at the LifebankUSA laboratory.
Before birth, babies receive oxygen and nutrients through a conduit of vessels known as the umbilical cord. This shared blood supply provides nutrients, helps remove the baby's waste, and also triggers corresponding hormonal changes in the bodies of mother and child. Early in the pregnancy, the umbilical cord blood vessels are not much bigger than a strand of hair but, as the pregnancy progresses, the umbilical cord thickens and can grow to more than 20 inches long.
The umbilical cord links the baby to the placenta and, by extension, to the mother. Typically, the cord comprises three blood vessels (two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein) that are joined by a connective tissue called Wharton's jelly. The two smaller arteries spiral around the larger umbilical blood vein, forming a tough cord.
At the time of birth, the umbilical cord is cut. In many cases, parents choose to have the umbilical cord blood collected for preservation. This is done to preserve the stem cells found in the umbilical cord blood, which can be used in a variety of cell-based therapies.
Cord blood, the blood that's left in the umbilical cord after a baby is born, is rich in stem cells. Umbilical cord blood stem cells have the ability to multiply and form different kinds of cells. The cord blood stem cells may be used for blood formation, much like the stem cells taken from bone marrow. These cord blood stem cells are typically discarded with the umbilical cord and placenta after birth, yet they can be used in lifesaving therapies. Cord blood stem cells have been used for transplants in patients with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia or immune system disorders. LifebankUSA offers parents the chance to bank these stem cells for private use in the future.
Upon the birth of your child, the umbilical cord will be cut as with any normal birth, and the blood remaining in the umbilical cord is collected using LifebankUSA's cord blood and placenta collection kit. LifebankUSA also offers placental stem cell preservation and, when parents choose to bank these additional placenta-derived stem cells, the doctor or health care provider will seal the placenta in a designated collection bag and place it in the collection kit for processing at LifebankUSA. The entire collection process is noninvasive and only takes about five minutes.
During the collection process, the doctor or health care provider performing the procedure will clamp the umbilical cord, cutting off the flow of blood through the entwined vessels. Once the cord is cut and separated from the baby, a needle is inserted into an umbilical cord blood vessel. The cord blood is drawn through a needle into a collection bag. After the blood flow stops, the collection bag is sealed and placed into a transport bag. The placenta may also be collected and saved in another protective bag and placed in the collection kit. The umbilical cord blood and placenta are then sent to our labs for processing and storage.
Stem cells are the building blocks of blood and the immune system, as well as all tissues in the body. Amazingly, these cells can replenish themselves and transform into other cell types including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This enables them to replace other cells in the body that are abnormal, weakened, or destroyed by disease.
Stem cell transplants have been used to treat patients with more than 80 diseases to date, including aplastic anemia, leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell disease. Cord blood and placental stem cell use will likely increase in the future as new developments occur in medical research. Current research in the field of transplant and stem cell therapy includes a focus on Parkinson's disease, stroke, diabetes, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), spinal cord injuries, and cardiac repair. Thanks to the use of placenta stem cells and those found in cord blood, lifesaving treatments for these conditions may be within reach.
Your family gains an advantage by privately banking your child's cord blood and placental stem cells for use in the future. According to an April 2005 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the highest probability of transplant success comes from cells that have a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) identical match on all six markers.1 The body uses HLA markers to identify which cells belong in the body and which do not, and the highest probability of an HLA match on all six markers is from a related donor.
An HLA match of four or five out of six markers is good, but an HLA match of six out of six is best for transplantation. The transplant success rate from related transplant donors is double that from unrelated donors,2 and that number increases if the transplant recipient is using his or her own stem cells. Banked placental and umbilical cord stem cells could very well save the life of your child or another member of your family.
To collect more stem cells. Increasing the total number of cells may improve the potential for successful engraftment, should the need ever arise. Adding placental stem cell collection to cord blood collection can as much as double the total number of CD34+ stem cells banked. Transplants with a higher number of CD34+ stem cells have been associated with an improved rate of successful engraftment.
References: 1. Meyer EA, Hanna K, Gebbie K, eds. Cord Blood: Establishing a National Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank Program. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2005. 2. Gluckman E, Rocha V, Boyer-Chammard A, et al. Outcomes of cord-blood transplantation from related and unrelated donors. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:373-381.
The chance that a child will use his/her own stored cord blood stem cells during his/her lifetime is estimated at 1 in 400 (J.J. Nietfeld and F. Verter). These odds may increase if there is a family history of certain blood disorders or cancers. The potential risks and benefits of stem cell transplantation vary and depend on many factors, such as the amount and quality of the cord blood stem cells collected, the HLA compatibility between recipient and donor, and the client’s overall health.
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