The medical care we have today is the result of years of research by medical professionals into disease causes and potential treatments.
Despite the fact that there is still much work to be done, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are just a few of the previously life-threatening diseases and conditions that now have treatments.
The method of treatment is changing drastically as research works to understand the biological principles that cause disease.
Dr Yvonne Holt, chief medical officer of Netcells Stem Cell Bank – the largest established private umbilical cord blood bank in Africa – explains that having access to cord blood provides an important source of stem cells, which can treat many life-threatening illnesses like blood disorders such as thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia, aplastic anaemia; cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma, and solid tumours of childhood; metabolic and immune disorders.
In a chat with IOL Lifestyle, she says there has been advancement in experimental treatments to treat cerebral palsy, type 1 diabetes, and autism in children using umbilical cord blood stem cells.
Researchers are conducting extensive research on umbilical cord blood’s potential to rejuvenate primarily the neurological system, especially in conditions such as cerebral palsy and autism.
She explains bone marrow transplantation using umbilical cord blood stem cells is carried out in South Africa at specialised oncology units in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
In the wake of Cord Blood Awareness Month this July, educating the public about the significance of umbilical cord blood storage and how it can save lives is important because, despite significant international advancements in cord blood banking and stem cell therapy, South Africa still does not have full access to these treatments.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells are used to treat blood cancers, inherited blood disorders and certain metabolic and immune disorders, which are prominent in South Africa, yet access to cord blood stem cells is limited.
They serve to repair and maintain our body cells throughout our lives.
It’s important to educate all South Africans regarding the importance of building a donor base that can serve all members of our community.
This will greatly improve transplant options for SA’s diverse demographic as it can be difficult to find a bone marrow stem cell match for patients of African origin given the lack of donors from these communities.
What are cord stem cells, and how are they harvested?
Once the baby is born and the umbilical cord is severed, the doctor will insert a needle into the remaining cord on the placenta, not in the baby, and drain the blood that is left in the placenta. This blood is then sent to a laboratory where the stem cells are extracted and then stored frozen at very low temperatures of -196°C.
Stem cells are the cells that make up the embryo and are the original building blocks of life. Stem cells develop into various cell types in the body such as skin, blood cells, muscle, bone, nerves and cartilage.
Stem cells can easily be collected at the birth of the baby (less invasive than harvesting them later in life). They are normally discarded as medical waste, making their collection free of moral, ethical and religious objections.
Who can use the umbilical cord stem cells and how do they work?
The cord blood unit can then either be used by the family themselves or by someone else in the community who might need a lifesaving transplant.
Millions of hematopoietic stem cells found in a newborn baby’s cord blood are used to regenerate bone marrow in cases where it has been damaged by blood cancers or an inherited blood disorder. In these cases, the bone marrow must be removed from the patient’s body using either chemotherapy or radiation, and then stem cells are administered to the patient through the bloodstream that will then help the patient’s condition.
“In this way, we hope to expand the opportunity to families who are faced with a life-threatening disease but cannot afford to save their baby’s precious stem cells at birth.”