The cord tissue has got tremendous powers of regeneration

Posted by medcells on October 14th, 2016

Introduction:

Our human body is a fantastic piece of engineering. It has a beautiful immunity system. Our body cells have the capacity to fight the toughest of diseases. However, we should nurture them correctly. Until recently, the medical fraternity, as well as the world in general, considered the umbilical cord and the placenta as useless body contraptions. They discarded the same after the birth of the child. However, recent studies have found out that the umbilical cord tissue and the blood have great therapeutic potential. This has given rise to the concept of cord tissue storage.

Cord tissue: The basics

Everyone knows about the umbilical cord. At the time of the baby’s birth, the doctors used to cut off the cord and discard it. The cord contains nothing but the blood vessels and the cord tissue. However, recent studies have proved the importance of the cord blood and the cord tissue in treating more than eighty diseases. Thus, there is an emergent need for cord tissue collection and storage. 

The cord tissue contains stem cells, also known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). These cells have the power to heal the body in different ways. The MSCs have the capacity to inhibit inflammation after tissue damage, ensure tissue repairs, and differentiate into other cell types such as bone cells, neural cells, etc.

Use of cord tissue cells:

These cells have the unique power of regeneration. Hence, they have a great ability to treat a variety of diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, and autoimmune diseases. They have great use in complementing the cord blood cells in the same transplant. This is a comparatively new field of medicine. Much research is still happening in this field. However, the recent studies have shown that the regenerative medicines work best with a mix of the stem cells.

Cord tissue banking:

The therapeutic uses of the cord tissue cells have brought the issue of cord tissue banking into the forefront. This is nothing but the cord tissue collection, processing, and storage.  

Steps involved in cord tissue processing:

The first step of the procedure involves the procurement of around six inches of the umbilical cord tissue at the time of the birth of the child. After cleaning the cord, the collection team places the cord tissue in a container containing antibiotics. They send the container to the laboratory for further processing and storage.

Increased awareness:

With the improvement in medical sciences, people are also now aware of the therapeutic properties of the cord tissue cells and cord blood. More people are now coming forward to store the cord tissues of their babies. They have understood the importance these MSCs to the overall wellbeing of the baby at a future date. These MSCs can be effective in curing a variety of issues such as multiple sclerosis, gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes, and even cancer. 

Conclusion:

This is the worth of the human body. The medical fraternity was treating the umbilical cord as a wasteful organ until very recently. Now, they have realized the importance of cord tissue storage and cord tissue collection as well.