Main body
Human life is created when an egg is fertilised by a sperm, when joined the two ‘gametes’ create a single cell organism that eventually develops into a baby. The fertilised egg is said to be ‘totipotent’ meaning that its potential is total. The single cell splits within hours of fertilisation, forming two identical totipotent cells.
After several days of continued cell division the totipotent cells begin to ‘differentiate’ or specialise. Outer hollow sphere cells encompass a cluster of cells inside known as the ‘inner cell mass’ together these cells are known as a ‘blastocyst’ which the outer layer goes on to become the placenta and other tissues necessary for the growth of the human baby. The cells that compromise the inner cell mass can form virtually every type of cell found in the human body. A baby needs the outer layer to fully develop. If pluripotent cells alone where to be implanted in a woman’s uterus they wouldn’t be able to form into a baby. Because of this the inner cell mass cells are not totipotent but ‘pluripotent’. Over time pluripotent cells continue to differentiate forming cells to perform certain functions known as ‘multipotent’. Pluripotent and multipotent cells are both referred to as ‘stem cells’ and are the subject of controversial research making headlines.
Many diseases and disorders result from disruption of cellular function or destruction of tissues of the body. Today donated organs and tissues are often used to replace destroyed tissue. Unfortunately the number of people suffering from disease outstrips the number of organs available for transplantation.
There are a lot of methods used for obtaining human stem cells from the body. Many arguments exist though with embryonic stem cell research because the process of obtaining the cells destroys the human embryo. Some people counter that the embryos were destines to be destroyed anyway (leftovers from a couple’s effort to become pregnant). A second way of obtaining is from aborted foetuses. True the foetus is already dead when cell extraction takes place but the method of the baby’s death is still immoral- even evil. A third way of obtaining human stem cells is though cord blood.
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is easily defined as blood retrieved from the umbilical cord after the birth of a child. The cord blood contains stem cells that are considered the building blocks of blood and immune systems within the body. Cord blood is the most desirable as the type of stem cell is the youngest that have not endured aging or damage. If a person’s blood stem cells become damaged due to disease the only hope for cure is a stem cell transplant mentioned earlier. This replaces the patient’s diseased cells with healthy new stem cells. The cells that will be transplanted in must match the patient’s cells to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host-diseases (GVHD).
(Shara B. A. Cohen ... [et al] : role in stem cell transplantation London: Martin Dunitz, 2000).
Harvesting and banking cord blood is a fairly simple procedure that can be performed during vaginal of caesarean deliveries without interrupting the birth process. The doctor or nurse will collect the cord blood after the umbilical cord has been clamped. The collection of cord blood is not painful, intrusive or risky to the mother or the baby.
Conclusion
Cord blood and the disadvantages
The most obvious argument is that the odds of needing cord blood for medical treatment is very slim. (Scientific Journal of The American Academy of Paediatrics) (AAP)
A new policy from the AAP states that:
There is no strong evidence to recommend routine cord blood banking for an infant’s future use. In recent years, umbilical cord blood has been used successfully to treat a variety of genetic, haematological and oncologic disorders. This advance has resulted in both not-for-profit and for-profit cord blood-banking programmes. According to the AAP ‘families may be vulnerable to emotional marketing at the time of the birth and may look to their physicians for advice’. The AAP’s statement is intended to help guide physicians in answering parents’ questions about cord blood banking. The policy also states that if cord clamping is done to soon after birth the infant may be deprived of a placental blood transfusion, resulting in lower blood volume and increased risk of anaemia later in life.
Another disadvantage is that the cost is enormous in America the price begins at $1550 at birth, plus $150 for a courier to deliver the blood, plus $95 for storage a year. At these prices, that will cost £2840 by the time the baby is 21.
Cord blood and the advantages
- It might just save your baby’s life or another family member’s life in the future.
- The collection is painless and harmless to the baby and the mother.
- 30%-70% of people who need bone marrow transplants cannot find a match. By banking cord blood the odds of having a proper match for the baby or another family member improve.
- Beneficial if a family member has a condition that can be treated with a stem cell transplant, such as sickle cell anaemia.
- Future medical advances might allow stem cells to treat even more diseases and be used in more transplant cases than in current medical practises.
Book list
(Scientific Journal of The American Academy of Paediatrics).
Park M. (1995) Oncogenes: genetic abnormalities of cell growth, London.
Shara B. A. Cohen ... [et al] : role in stem cell transplantation London: Martin Dunitz, 2000.
