Stem cells are cells extracted from people, and they can differentiate into other forms of cells. These ranges from hematological cells such as white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Also, they can differentiate into non-hematological such as mesenchymal cells, liver cells, bone cells, cartilage cells, etc. They have a great potential and even hold significant promises for new medical treatments for diseases. Also, they’re already playing essential roles in the treatment of some diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, skeletal, bone and cartilage diseases. The vital role stem cells play in therapy, and the future potential it holds has necessitated the emergence of stem cell banking.
Stem cell banking is the process of preserving stem cells. The cells are stored in banks. These stem cells preserved in private stem cell banks are specifically for the use of the person whom it was extracted from. The individual also bears the financial cost of storing. It works just like the traditional money bank, only that in this case, stem cells are being stored, and it’s a lot less complicated.
WHERE ARE STEM CELLS GOTTEN FROM?
Stem cells can be extracted from different places in the body. They can be gotten from the bone marrow, from the umbilical cord, adipose tissue. These stem cells, in the right conditions can either develop to form new stem cells, or differentiate to form more specialized cells which could be hematological or no hematological
Embryonic stem cells: Stem cells can be extracted from embryos. These embryos are typically between the ages of three to five days old. These cells are also known as pluripotent stem cells, and they can differentiate into any cell in the body. Stem cells also can undergo regeneration, self-renewal, and immunomodulation. This particular feature has made embryonic stem cells useful in the treatment of some diseases, especially in fixing injured tissues and organs. It’s also been used in the regeneration of dead cells. However, its uses have been limited to the treatment of eye diseases, such as macular degeneration.
ADULT STEM CELLS: Stem cells can be gotten from adult humans. They can be extracted from places such as the bone and adipose tissues. They can also be obtained from the bloodstream through the process called apheresis. This is the process by which some growth factors are injected into the bloodstream to mobilize stem cells to develop faster and then, spread into the bloodstream so that they could be collected. Stem cells withdrawn from adults have a limited capability to differentiate into the different cells of the body. In fact, researchers used to believe that stem cells from adult bone marrow can only form cells similar to them. For example, they thought that stem cells in the bone marrow could only develop to form hematological cells. However, recent research has proven that other types of cells are originating from the adult stem cells. Cardiac, bone and cartilage cells can be generated from adult bone marrow stem cells. As an illustration, stem cells from the bone marrow, specifically, mesenchymal cells have been useful in the treatment of myocardial infarction.
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS: Adult cells can now be modified to have the features of embryonic stem cell. These adult cells after some processing become pluripotent stem cells. Scientists have successfully transformed normal cells from adults, through genetic programming into stem cells. They do this by changing the genes of adult cells; the outcome would be cells that have the full properties of embryonic stem cells, which are capable of differentiating into any cell. One of the most important benefits of this is that it removes the problem of immune rejection during transplants. However, it is not yet known if it would have any side effects in humans. Scientists have been able to modify adult connective tissue cells into working heart cells. This experiment was done in animals. The animals were given injections that contain newly modified heart cells. After close monitoring for some time, it was recorded that the animals heart function showed significant improvement. This has not been done on humans yet.
TYPES OF STEM BANKING
First, there are two types of stem baking. These are
- Private stem banking: In private stem banking, people preserve their stem cells in banks. However, the stem cells deposited can only be used by the donor. There is also the family bank. The stem cells in this bank can only be used by members of the family. Also, the individual or family involved would have to pay for storing their stem cells in the bank.
- Public stem banking: Public stem banking is meant for everyone. Parents who are willing can donate the cord of their babies to the public However, this can only be done in a hospital that accepts cord donations. Public stem banking is highly recommended by the American Medical Association and the American Pediatrics Association.
Stem cell banking is essential for patients that have rare genetic diseases.
REASONS WHY PEOPLE NEED TO DO STEM BANKING
- Stem cell therapy: Stem cells have proved useful in the treatment of many diseases. Diseases such as multiple myeloma, acute and chronic types of leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, hematological diseases such as pernicious anemia, thalassemia. Also, they’ve also been vital in the treatment of non-hematological diseases such as diabetes, retinoblastoma, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and so on.
- The scarcity of stem cells: The demand for stem cells far outweighs its supply. This is why people are encouraged to donate their stem cells to public stem banks, which is always without any cost. As an illustration, the latest stem cell waiting list in India is just below 30,000 people.
- Preference for umbilical cord stem cells: Umbilical stem cells are preferred to other types of stem cells. This is quite logical because they are easy to collect, does not harm the mother or baby, they do yield better transplant outcomes and fewer chances of rejection.
For more information, visit iSTEMCELL.com
References
Lifecell.in. (2017). Benefits of Preserving Stem Cells | LifeCell. [online] Available at: https://www.lifecell.in/about-stem-cells [Accessed 10 Dec. 2017].
Ooi, O., Al Habib, H., Almsherqi, Z. and El Oakley, R. (2006). Stem cell transplantation: potential impact on heart failure. Cell and Tissue Banking, 7(4), pp.307-317.
Sharma, D. (2016). Stem Cell Banking: A Precious Gift to a Child from Parents. Academia Anatomica International, 2(1).
Stacey, G., Crook, J., Hei, D. and Ludwig, T. (2013). Banking Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Lessons Learned from Embryonic Stem Cells?. Cell Stem Cell, 13(4), pp.385-388.
