Benefits

Stem cells can be used for the treatment of currently incurable diseases, such as:

• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
• Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
• Juvenile CML
• Juvenile Myelmonocytic Leukemia
• Mylodysplastic Syndrome
• Stem cell disorders - Aplastic Anaemia
• Thalassemia
• Parkinson's Disease
• Stroke
• Spinal Cord Injuries

How?
Placental blood islands are the origin of Haematopoietic stem cells; hence, cord blood contains stem cells. Cord blood is the residual blood left in the umbilical cord after childbirth. It was discovered by scientists that the stem cells present in the cord blood was comparable to stem cells from the bone marrow. Clinical trials clearly proved that the stem cells from cord blood were as good as, or even better than the bone marrow derived stem cells.

Since the discovery of cord blood stem cells about ten years ago, more than 2000 transplantations have been done to treat the following hematological diseases: Myeloid Leukemia, both chronic and acute, Thalassaemia, Fanconis Anemia, Aplastic Anemia and Severe Combined Immune-deficiency Syndrome (SCID).

Future
Intensive research is under way to develop methods for deriving cardiomyocytes for treating infarct and nerves for treating spinal cord injuries. Other tissues that can be derived from cord blood stem cells are hepatocytes and kidney tubular cells. Limbal cell transplant for curing several diseases related blindness is extremely promising. In less than five years we predict that cord blood stem cells will be used in clinics to treat several of the incurable diseases caused by cell death and consequent loss of function.

In addition, the human genome project has revealed the blueprint of life and has brought forth the nature of genes present in our chromosomes. This enables us to generate tailor made therapies for single and multi gene disorders, which can be transfected into stem cells and then introduced into the body.