Thousands of New Parents Are Banking on the Future of Stem Cells
SAN BRUNO, Calif., March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of one of the
most exciting years in scientific advances, Cord Blood Registry, the nation's
largest family bank of umbilical cord blood stem cells, announced today that
its registry has grown to over 18,000 units.
Stem cells were the top science story of 1999 and researchers have
recently discovered that stem cells, like those found in cord blood and bone
marrow, can be "coaxed" into becoming other types of cells. Unlike mature
cells, which cannot change their destiny, it appears that stem cells can renew
themselves and create new cells of whatever tissue they belong to.
Cord blood, which is usually thrown away with the placenta after the
umbilical cord has been cut, is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, the
"mother" cells that reproduce and create the human blood and immune system.
Now, families can collect and freeze these cells for potential future use in
treating a variety of diseases ... and it is catching on.
"We are seeing the largest increase in new clients coming from our web
site, http://www.cordblood.com. The Internet has been a great help in educating new
parents about the benefits of collecting and cryopreserving their newborns'
cord blood stem cells," according to Stephen Grant, vice president and
co-founder of the Registry. "Stem cells are a reasonably complex area of
science, and the web enables us to educate new parents easily."
Since 1988, doctors have been using umbilical cord blood stem cells as an
alternative to bone marrow to treat a variety of cancers and serious
illnesses.
Recently, Japanese researchers announced they had isolated certain types
of cells found in umbilical cord blood, called "progenitor epithelial cells,"
that may one day enable heart patients to "grow" their own bypasses instead of
having surgical vein grafts. The cells form the lining of blood vessels and
result in a process known as angiogenesis.
And the development of promising treatments for muscular dystrophy, a
disease that affects some 250,000 Americans, was boosted when biologists at
Boston Children's Hospital announced they had turned hematopoietic stem cells,
like those found in cord blood, into muscle cells. Leaders of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association said that this discovery promises the greatest
hope they've ever had for treatment.
These new experiments are encouraging because the stem cells are the
patient's own and do not carry the risk of rejection, a common problem in
transplantation medicine.
Dr. Kathleen Edmunds, an OB/Gyn in Knoxville, TN, who banked her son's
cord blood stem cells at Cord Blood Registry, said, "We did it two years ago,
and there are so many things now it promises to help. I guess I'd say I just
saw the potential and thought it was worth it."
It costs a little over a thousand dollars to collect, process and freeze
the stem cells, and there is an annual fee of $95 for maintenance. Collection
of cord blood can take place at any hospital or birthing center; the procedure
takes about five minutes and poses no risk to mother or baby.
For more information on cord blood stem cell banking, a toll-free number
is available, 888-CORD BLOOD (888-267-3256).
SOURCE Cord Blood Registry
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Related links:
http://www.cordblood.com
CONTACT:
Sam Yoo, Communications Coordinator of Cord
Blood Registry, 800-588-6377, ext. 239
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