What are Cord Blood Banking and Tissue Banking?

The blood that stays in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth is known as cord blood. The umbilical cord is clamped and severed after the baby is born, according to the birthing plan agreed upon with the doctor, leaving an average of 80–120 milliliters, or about 1/3 to 1/2 cup, of blood within. A surgical needle is used to extract the blood remaining in the cord and placenta into a collecting bag. Even though the amount of blood taken appears to be little, it includes millions of adult stem cells that can build the blood and immune system. We identify, harvest, and store these stem cells in the hopes of one day using them to cure illness or other medical ailments.

Cord tissue is the insulating layer that surrounds the umbilical cord’s vessels. The umbilical cord will be clamped and cut after birth, and a portion of the cord, generally four inches in length, can be preserved. The cord tissue seems to be transparent and jelly-like. It includes lipids, white cells, and stem cells and provides insulation for the umbilical cord’s two arteries and one vein. It contains epithelial and endothelial stem cells, although mesenchymal stem cells are more abundant. The nervous system, sensory organs, circulatory tissues, skin, bone, cartilage, and other tissues can all be formed from stem cells. Cord tissue banking, like cord blood banking, is a type of biological insurance in which parents save their baby’s stem cells for future therapies. The following are the two primary advantages of storing both cord blood and cord tissue:

• to have a larger number of stem cells from the same child

• to have a variety of cell types.

Difference in Treatments

Because each kind of stem cell is abundant in cord blood and cord tissue, it seems logical that they may be used to treat different illnesses or ailments. Both hematopoietic stem cells in the cord blood and mesenchymal stem cells in the cord tissue can be employed to help repair, regenerate, or cure a range of illnesses, although the problems and diseases they treat seldom overlap. Cord blood has been used in humans for more than 25 years, and it is the only one of the two that has been approved by the FDA for use in regular treatments. Leukemias, lymphomas, anemias, and hereditary metabolic abnormalities can all be treated with it. Clinical trials are also being conducted on cord blood for the treatment of more advanced diseases including autism, cerebral palsy, diabetes, eczema, stroke.

Clinical experiments are still being conducted on the possible future use of mesenchymal stem cells, such as those found in cord tissue, but the results thus far have been highly encouraging. Heart and kidney illness, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, wound healing, and even sports injuries are all being treated with them.