Mum-to-be saves baby stem cells
MOTHER-TO-BE Louise Roe is planning to ‘bank’ her new born’s stem cells in a Westcountry medical laboratory – so they can be used to treat the child for potential illnesses in later life.
Lousie (pictured), a fashion stylist, author and presenter is using the services of Plymouth based Biovault Family to store the baby’s umbilical cord blood in a practice that, while still unusual, is becoming increasingly common in the UK.
WESTCOUNTRY medical company Biovault Family has revealed that fashion stylist, author and presenter Louise Roe will be using its services to bank her new-born baby’s stem cells, writes William Telford.
The influencer, who has more than 662,000 followers on Instagram, is expecting her second child with husband Mackenzie in May, 2021, and becomes the latest celebrity to use the facility, after Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham her baby’s cells stored at the Plymouth lab.
Biovault Family offers personalised cord blood and tissue processing and storage services to parents who wish to bank their babies’ umbilical cord blood because it is rich in stem cells.
It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect these precious cells which have the ability to change into many different cell types such as blood, bone, tissue and organ cells.
There are also more than 80 conditions that can be treated using umbilical cord stem cells, including leukaemia, cerebral palsy and thalassaemia. A baby’s stem cells can also potentially match and treat siblings or parents, if required.
Based in Plymouth’s International Medical and Technology Park beside its partners at Derriford Teaching Hospital, Biovault has led the way in human tissue processing and storage since 2004.
Cord blood storage and processing can cost from £1,450 plus £60 a year storage, or a 25-year deal costs £1,950 or £2,950 for 50 years.
Cord blood and tissue storage and processing is more expensive at £1,750 plus £90 a year, or £2,450 or £3,850 for 25 or 50 years storage.
Ms Roe said: “We did it for Honor, who was born in the US, where it’s a more common thing to do. Touch wood, you never need it, but if anything can help a future illness then in my opinion it’s so worth doing.
“I think every parent would put their child’s health above anything else in the world. Arming yourself with knowledge about cord blood banking could potentially be a very important part of that.”
Kate Sneddon, Biovault Family chief executive, said: “We are delighted that Louise has chosen Biovault Family to bank her baby’s cord blood.The value of cord blood banking is well known in other parts of the world, but in the UK it is still relatively unknown.
“Louise is a brilliant influencer and it is really great that she wants to help us spread the word about cord blood banking, and its value today in treating a range of conditions.”