You Can Save Your Child's Life with Stem Cells

25.04.2011 | By: I. M.

You can decide for the long-term protection of your child’s health already during your pregnancy. Read more about it in the article.

Stem cells are stored in laboratories in Belgium and the Netherlands. (PhotoXpress)

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What are stem cells?

Stem cells are unique and largely formed at birth. At that time, the human body is a real treasury of these cells, which are also contained in the umbilical cord and umbilical cord blood. Although stem cells are formed constantly during a person’s life, their power is reduced with aging. Through cell division, one fertilized egg cell is capable of creating over 200 specialized cells that form any tissue in the body. A stem cell can be divided into a new stem cell and new specialized cells. Stem cells are indispensable for the immune system. In medicine, they triggered a sort of revolution in the last decades. Namely, regenerative medicine assumed new dimensions. In essence, stem cells are extracted to form required tissue and to be transplanted to the damaged tissue. The umbilical cord and its blood contain special stem cells which provide more possibility for their use than those contained in other parts of the body.

Stem cells and regenerative medicine

As stem cells are very valuable for regenerative medicine, today you can store them after childbirth. The vitality of these cells is preserved for several decades by storing them in liquid nitrogen at -196 °C. They’re stored in laboratories in Belgium and the Netherlands and can be delivered in 48 hours to anywhere in Europe, if required. Many experts claim that by storing stem cells you already take care of your child’s health. Namely, they can form other cells, and if transplanted to damaged tissue, they’re of great help in the treatment and regeneration of the tissue. In regenerative medicine, stem cell treatment is the most effective if the cells are one’s own. Therefore, if you store stem cells, your children have better chance for successful treatment in case of disease. At birth, the quantity of stem cells is high and they’re very vital.

Stem cell treatment

As stem cells have a high healing function, today they’re already used to treat numerous diseases, such as leukaemia. In 2008, a list was published which included diseases that can be treated with autologous use of stem cells, that is, the use of the cells that patients receive from their own blood. In allogeneic stem cell treatment, a patient receives stem cells from a donor. The list of diseases also includes certain rare forms of cancer, types of tumor, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, multiple sclerosis and diabetes. In these cases, stem cells help replace the cells that are missing or don’t function. In addition to the above diseases, experts assess that the scope of stem cell treatment might even be increased in the future.

Extraction of stem cells

You probably wonder how stem cells are extracted. It’s a painless procedure for the mother as well as her child, and it’s simple and safe. Extraction doesn’t involve an operation. First you have to conclude an agreement on storage of stem cells, so consult your general practitioner before the procedure itself. You’ll get a kit for extraction and transportation of the blood sample taken by an obstetrician or nurse in the maternity ward. The procedure is simple and only takes a few minutes. Stem cells will be delivered safely to a laboratory in Belgium where they are stored for 20 years. After that time, children themselves decide whether they want to extend the time of storage. The storage of stem cells for your children or their siblings has to be paid.