After the delivery of
a newborn, snipping the umbilical cord and then discarding
the cord and placenta is
the typical procedure. However, some new mothers
at UI Hospitals and Clinics are accepting the invitation
to donate their baby’s umbilical cord blood
to a new UI research bank that aims to advance the
understanding of human diseases.
The procedure in no way affects the delivery or
health of the baby, and the donation provides important
cells only for research studies, not for stem cell
transplants into other patients or for therapeutic
cloning. The new research endeavor—the UI Hematopoietic
Stem Cell Bank—is
funded by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and
housed in the UI Carver College of Medicine.
An umbilical cord contains hematopoietic (blood)
stem cells—unspecialized cells that can develop
into different blood cell types and even other cells
in the body, such as muscle cells or nerves. The
cord blood stem cells have potential for advancing
gene therapy for conditions such as Parkinson’s
disease and muscular dystrophy. This versatility
makes the cells very useful for research studies
and can promote scientific and medical advances,
says Frederick Goldman, associate professor of pediatrics
and director of the new hematopoietic stem cell bank.
“Cord blood stem cells are more committed
than embryonic stem cells, but they still have the
ability to differentiate into a wide variety of tissue
types,” Goldman says.
Restrictions placed on embryonic stems cells by
the federal government and some state governments
often make it difficult to use these cells in scientific
investigations. However, cord blood stem cells are
not subject to these same restrictions.
The umbilical cord is rich in hematopoietic stem
cells, which can produce red blood cells, white blood
cells, and platelets.
To date, nearly 20 mothers have donated their child’s
umbilical cord blood. The bank coordinates with staff
in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to
inform mothers of the donation option.
One umbilical cord provides 20 to 150 milliliters
of blood. The blood cells are processed and then
cultured as a quality assurance measure to ensure
they are not contaminated with bacteria. The bank
aims to have 500 units frozen to be available free
of charge to local investigators, including members
of the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“We are currently working to provide cord
blood units to all researchers that are interested
in studying stem cells,” Goldman says. “We
also are encouraging our colleagues in the basic
sciences as well as other medical fields to consider
using cord blood stem cells in their investigations.
“It is exciting that we can offer this service
at no cost to the investigators.”
The Carver Charitable
Trust is providing a Center of Excellence
grant to help support the project.
by Becky Soglin
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