Cord blood stemcells save young lives
MORE DONATIONS SOUGHT AS NINE OF 3,377 CELLS HARVESTED USED IN TRANSPLANTS
Nine of the 3,377 stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood at the Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre ( DCRC) have been used for life- saving transplants in children in cases of leukaemia and other blood diseases.
Kareema Salim Al Arrayed, head of DCRC, advocated the importance of public donation of cord blood stem cells to help form a substantial registry of stem cells for the UAE.
“Since the inception of this centre in 2006, we have seen an increase in the awareness levels about cord blood banking and this has directly attributed to an increase in the number of people who save their cord blood at our cord blood bank.”
Kareema stressed the need to raise awareness that cord blood stem cells can be donated. Presently, more than 80 diseases can be cured with the help of stem cells and this includes leukaemia, and treatment of genetic disorders such as thalassaemia.
“The DCRC encourages families to donate cord blood stem cells so that we have a strong UAE public registry to help people in need. Stem cells are the future of medicine and public banking is a trend that is catching on globally due to the several diseases stem cells can cure,” she said
Many women today opt for cord blood collection at the time of birth and DCRC provides pregnant women and their families a guided tour of the centre and its facilities to engender their interest in preserving stem cells for their families or for the purpose of donation.
Cryopreservation
The DCRC was established in 2006 and the prime objective of the centre is to retrieve a newborn’s umbilical cord blood at birth and extract the haemopoietic stem cells and carry out its cryopreservation.
The DCRC spokesperson explained that the umbilical cord blood is what remains in the placenta following birth.
Until recently, in most cases, the umbilical cord and the placentawere discarded after birth. In the last decade, scientists and researchers have discovered that the umbilical cord blood could supply stemcells, the hidden treasure of life. These stem cells can be used to replace blood- forming cells in a person being treated for cancer or other life- threatening diseases.