Over the past 33 years, stem cell transplant from a newborn’s umbilical cord blood have been used to save the lives of thousands of patients. Cord blood stem cells has been used to treat a wide variety of life-threatening conditions including cancer, immune disorders, and blood disorders.
Researchers have discovered that cord blood stem cells may also play an important role in treating conditions like heart disease, macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, COVID-19, and several paediatric disorders.
There are two main types of cord blood transplant, known as the autologous and allogenic stem cell transplants. This article will explain the differences between these two transplant options.
What Is Autologous Cord Blood Transplant?
Autologous refers to cells or tissue that has come from the same person. An autologous cord blood transplant uses stem cells that come from the same person who will receive the transplant. In other words, the patient is their own donor.
The main benefit of using own body’ stem cells is that they will have identical Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA). HLA are proteins, or ‘markers’, that are inherited from a person’s parents (half from each parent). They are used by immune to determine which cells belong in the body and which cells do not.
When a patient receives a transfusion of stem cells with identical HLA markers, the immune system will see them as being a natural part of the body. This means they will not trigger an immune system response, which makes them a safer option compared to transplants that use donor stem cells from other people.
There have been hundreds of success stories involving autologous cord blood transplants over the past decade. One of those stories involved a young girl named Sparrow Morris.
Sparrow was just 20 months old when she fell into the family’s swimming pool and almost drowned. She didn’t have a pulse when pulled from the water and was quickly rushed to a local hospital.
Doctors were able to revive Sparrow, however, the incident caused severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. Over the next year, she received speech therapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy on a daily basis. Although some progress was made, her cognitive function was still heavily impacted.
Fortunately, Sparrow’s mother Tonya, had saved her daughter’s umbilical cord blood stem cells with Cells4Life. With the help of researchers from Duke University, Sparrow was enrolled in a clinical trial which was using cord blood stem cells to treat acquired brain injuries.
According to Tonya, Sparrow’s condition dramatically improved in the months after she received an infusion of her own cord blood stem cells. Today, she is an active and happy young toddler who is developing well. Read more case studies.
What Is Allogeneic Cord Blood Transplant?
The term allogeneic describes cells or tissues that are genetically dissimilar. An allogenic cord blood transplant involves a patient receiving stem cells from another person, which can be a close relative or unrelated donor.
For an allogeneic cord blood transplant to work, there must be a close HLA match between the donor and the patient. In most cases, doctors will consider a donor and patient with 8 to 10 identical HLA markers to be a ‘match’.
Because a person’s close relatives are genetically similar, it is more likely that they will be an HLA match with a patient. This means that parents who store their child’s umbilical cord blood may be able to use it to treat their siblings and other family members.
Thousands of allogeneic cord blood transplants are performed each year, most of which use cord blood stem cells obtained from a close relative. One recent success story involved a young boy named Keegan Doheney.
When he was two years old, Keegan was diagnosed with leukaemia. Fortunately, his doctors were able to get his cancer into remission. When Keegan’s mother Wendy became pregnant again, she decided to keep her newborn’s cord blood in case either child developed cancer in the future or needed a stem cell infusion.
Wendy’s decision proved to be wise when Keegan was diagnosed with leukaemia again at age 5. Doctors told Wendy that a cord blood transplant would be required as a part of Keegan’s treatment.
Everyone was happy to discover that Keegan was an HLA match with his brother, so he could use his brother’s cord blood stem cells. After receiving his cord blood transplant, Keegan is now in remission once more. Read more case studies.
What Is HLA Tissue Typing?
HLA matching is an important step to be performed before performing a cord blood transplant. The process starts with obtaining a blood sample of the donor and the recipient. These samples are then tested to determine the HLA protein molecules that are present and to find out the patient’s HLA type.
There are 6 HLA types that are important for stem cell transplants to be required. For a bone marrow stem cell transplant to work, all 6 must be a match. However, a cord blood transplant can work with as little as a 4 out of 6 match (67% match), because the donor cells are less mature and less likely to trigger an immune system reaction.
Cord Blood Banking Benefits
If you have banked your baby’s umbilical cord blood at birth, you will have the opportunity to use the stored cord blood stem cells for both autologous and allogenic cord blood transplant. Your baby’s cord blood is 100% match to them and there is 25% chance of being a match to siblings. There is also a possibility of matching the parents and other relatives.
Currently, there are over 85 medical conditions that cord blood stem cells can treat and more than 40,000 cord blood transplants have been performed worldwide. There are over 7,000 on-going clinical trials using cord blood stem cells for autism, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, heart attack, brain injury, hearing loss, and more!
If you have previously stored your baby’s cord blood with Cells4Life and would like to inquire about the complete process of how to use your baby’s cord blood – for autologous or allogenic cord blood transplant, please feel free to contact our UK office directly.
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