Give
Someone a Second Chance at Life
By
Lee Philips, M.D.
PersonalMD.Com
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Umbilical
Cord
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Function:
noun
A
cord arising from the navel that connects the fetus
with the placenta and contains the two umbilical arteries
and the umbilical vein .
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Following
the birth of a baby, the umbilical cord blood is no longer needed
and usually discarded. Bloodremaining in the umbilical cord is
a rich source of stem cells. Taking and storing the blood found
in the umbilical cord immediately after delivery can later be
used in the hope of saving the life of someone with cancer, a
blood disease, or immune disorder. Stem cells are the building
blocks for all other blood cells in our bodies.
Click
here to view the Umbilical Cord
They
go on to generate the white cells that fight infection, red cells
that carry oxygen throughout the body, platelets that form blood
clots. After birth stem cells are found in the bone marrow, where
they make continuously new blood cells during our lifetime. Presently
bone marrow is the most common source of stem cells. Stem cells
from bone marrow or umbilical cord can be used to treat disorders
that affect the blood and immune system. In a successful treatment,
the stem cells survive in a patient's bone marrow and produce
healthy blood cells.
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Marrow
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Pronunciation:
'mar-(")O, -&(-w)
Function:
noun
1
: a soft highly vascular modified connective tissue
that occupies the cavities and cancellous part of
most bones and occurs in two forms:
a : a whitish or yellowish marrow consisting
chiefly of fat cells and predominating in the cavities
of the long bones -- called also yellow marrow
b : a reddish marrow containing little fat,
being the chief seat of red blood cell and blood granulocyte
production, and occurring in the normal adult only
in cancellous tissue especially in certain flat bones
-- called also red marrow
2
: the substance of the spinal cord
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Stem
cells from cord blood are much easier to get because they are
readily obtained at the time of delivery. Harvesting stem cells
from bone marrow requires a surgical procedure that can be painful
and costs between 5,000-10,000 dollars. Cord blood might have
a greater ability to generate new blood cells, and are more potent
than stem cells found in bone marrow.
A
disadvantage is that samples of cord blood are small, a few ounces,
so they are suitable mainly for children. And if the transplanted
cells fail there are no more cells from the same donor for future
attempts. Bone Marrow Transplantation
(BMT) requires a genetic donor match.
Finding a match is an arduous and lengthy process as long as 6
months. There are proteins on the surface of the cells that must
match in both donor and recipient for a transplant to be successful.
The best source for a compatible match is one's family because
of shared genes. When a match can not be found within a family,
the next option is a registry, which usually offers a 20% chance
of finding a match. Currently there are 10,000 people waiting
for a bone marrow transplant and unable to find a donor. Hundreds
of BMT candidates die each year while waiting for a match.
There
appears to be less of a risk of rejection when cord blood stem
cells are used, even if the donor cells are slightly mismatched.
The immunological immaturity of the cord blood cells causes less
of a rejection reaction than bone marrow cells from adult donors,
meaning they may adapt more easily when transplanted. Cord blood
is also less likely to be contaminated with viruses. Finally,
after cord blood is collected and tested it can be ready to be
used in as little as 4-6 weeks. Cord blood transplants have been
successful in more than 80 percent of cases. And 90 percent of
the procedures have been performed in children, but ages have
ranged from age four months to 60 years.
Those
who have a family history of certain genetic diseases, such as
severe anemias, immune disorders or some cancers, may want to
consider the option of storing cord blood. Complete information
and counseling should be available from your doctor. Families
without a history of these diseases have a one in 200,000 chance
their child will develop a disease that could be treated with
a cord blood or bone marrow transplant before the age of 15.
If
your child developed leukemia you could not use his own cord blood,
because the cancer cells would probably be in the cord blood also.
You could however, use a healthy sibling's cord blood to treat
another sibling with cancer. There is a one-in-four chance that
cord blood from a sibling will be a perfect match for a sick brother
or sister.
After
the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, the blood is collected
in a simple procedure that takes a few minutes. Parents can make
arrangements before the birth of their child to have their babys
cord blood collected and stored for their own use by a commercial
blood bank. The cost of extracting and storing the blood ranges
from $1,000 to $1,500, with an annual fee of about $100 a year.
If you don't save the cord blood for your family you can donate
it at no cost to a public cord blood bank.
There
is an effort in the US and around the world to collect cord blood
and develop large cord blood banks, making cord blood available
to patients needing transplants whom can not find an identical
donor. You could save a life.
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