The discovery of the potential of stem cells in curing multiple diseases has led to the rise of stem cell storage banks – companies that will store your stem cells as a sort of insurance should you be unfortunate enough to suffer from a disease in the future. Storing your stem cells means that you would be able to use them later in life should you fall victim to an illness that is treatable via stem cell therapy; potentially curing your illness.
When using stem cells for such treatments as the bone marrow transplant for Leukaemia patients the most difficult part of the process is finding a suitable donor to avoid the possibility of rejection. If the patient’s own stem cells could be used then the possibility of rejection is significantly reduced. Furthermore, as stem cell research suggests that a number of other diseases could one day be curable, storing your stem cells acts as a possible insurance policy against a number of diseases in later life.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells
Storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells at birth is probably the most commonly known form of stem cell storage – the blood from the umbilical cord is rich in young, healthy stem cells and this is usually discarded at birth.
However, today parents-to-be are being offered the option of storing their newborn’s umbilical cord blood stem cells as security against any diseases, injuries or disorders the child may suffer from in the future; as well as for any siblings that are likely to be a good match due to their shared DNA.
The stem cells are obtained immediately after the birth and the procedure is of no risk to mother or child as the umbilical cord is of no use once the child is born. They are separated from the blood and then deep frozen and stored for up to 25 years and are available at any point should your child or a member of your family be unfortunate enough as to need them due to illness.
Stem cell storage development
When the phenomenon of stem cell storage first caught on it was assumed that this procedure was a one-off opportunity that could only be taken advantage of at birth through the umbilical cord. However, some stem cell storage banks now offer children and adults the opportunity to store their bone marrow stem cells for the same purpose as that of the umbilical cord, provided that the bone marrow is healthy.
These stem cells are obtained by taking a bone marrow sample – usually from the hip as it is large and therefore plentiful of bone marrow – under a local anaesthetic as it is an invasive procedure. The stem cells are then stored using the same procedure as that for umbilical cord blood stem cells and are there at your disposal should you need to take advantage of them in the future.
There is very little ethical debate in this area of stem cell therapy as the umbilical cord would otherwise be discarded and the bone marrow is taken from the patient’s own body with their consent. The one drawback of this procedure is the fact that it is costly and is only offered privately meaning that it is not available to everybody.
The possibility of you or your loved ones getting an incurable disease is not something anybody wants to think about but nobody can deny the very real possibility that it is. Storing your stem cells now though might mean that you or your loved one will not have to suffer for very long. And the practice of gene therapy is another means to fight off other illnesses.
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