Preparation of Therapeutic Stem Cells for Treatment

Preparation of Therapeutic Stem Cells for Treatment

There are three types of stem cells available for research protocols:

  • Human Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells (HUCBSCs)
  • Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (HUCMSCs)
  • Human Bone Marrow Stem Cells (HBMSCs)

Why Stem Cell Therapy?

The use of stem cell therapy in testing the potential effectiveness for the treatment of many diseases has the potential to help thousands of patients.  Patients suffering from spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease, among many others, could show significant improvement with stem cell therapy.  Stem cells are unique in the fact that they are able to differentiate to specialized cells when directed to different areas of the body.

Cell Growth and Antibodies

Stem cells, whether from bone marrow or an umbilical cord, have the ability to develop into a brain cell, a liver cell, a bone cell, et cetera.  This and the fact that umbilical cord cells are less likely to induce immunological reactions make them perfect for donation and future growth in vivo, or in the body.
Preparation and Process

The process involves harvesting immature stem cells from bone marrow or an umbilical cord.  Bone marrow is rich in stem cells, which occur naturally, to replenish blood cells for oxygen and disease fighting capabilities.

Donors are tested for disease and blood type and undergo a minor procedure to extract bone marrow cells usually from the hip bone.  This is done under sterile conditions with a needles and syringe. The cells are then mixed with saline and cultivated in cell growth medium to allow the stem cells to multiply.
An umbilical cord from a newborn baby is very rich in stem cells. The cord is donated by a mother who has agreed to a C-section delivery of her healthy full term baby.   The donors are tested at several different times to assure that AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis are not present.  Many samples from the donated umbilical cord are taken under sterile conditions and harvested in vitro, out of the body.  They are grown in a solution with nutrients to encourage multiplication of cells.  It is not necessary for the cord blood stem cells to be cultured and expanded in vitro which spare time and avoid the increased risk of contamination with any culture manipulation.

Cell Readiness

Whether from the umbilical cord or bone marrow, when cell population growth reaches a desirable level, they are ready for transplantation.  Depending on the type of tissue and disease affected, the stem cell therapy cells are injected.

Risks are very low and success rate is quite high at reducing symptoms of many diseases in our research protocols.