Umbilical cord blood stem cells are a valuable resource because their transplantation currently allows the treatment of 80 diseases, mainly blood diseases, leukemias, anemias, bone marrow cancers…
Research on stem cells is also focusing on type 1 diabetes. Today, a patient has a 1 in 50,000 chance of finding a compatible placental blood unit compared to a 1 in a million chance of finding a compatible donor in the bone marrow donor registry. Less rejection, a simple and painless collection, and greater availability thanks to cryopreservation, placental blood grafting offers many advantages over bone marrow transplantation.
The company Cryo-Save interviewed its President-Founder Marc Waeterschoot. He explains the stakes of this medical technique.
“I would define stem cells as an opportunity not to be missed. Indeed, it is only at the moment of birth that a decision can be made, it is a chance to keep a treasure. Cord blood provides us with very precious cells that are currently used for 80 diseases. For example, there is leukemia or pernicious anemia (red blood cell deficiency). If a brother’s or sister’s stem cells have been stored, there is a 1 in 4 chance they can be used within the family, whereas when the sample is donated, there is only 1 case in 50,000 of finding the sample in the public bank. There is evidence that cord blood stem cells work since 26,000 transplants have already been performed. Cord blood stem cells are gaining in popularity, notably because bone marrow harvesting is quite painful, whereas cord blood is easily accessible.”
