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Newborn’s umbilical cord blood should be donated for stem cell research

Anet Baby

Student ID: 3042985

NorQuest College

NFDN 2005 O01

Fauziya Ali

Assignment 1: Trends and Issues

April 02, 2021

Newborn’s umbilical cord blood should be donated for stem cell research

Introduction

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and attached umbilical cord after a child is born

(umbilical cord blood). Since cord blood contains stem cells that can be used to treat hematopoietic

and genetic disorders including cancer, it is taken. It's easy to collect and freeze for later use.

Researchers are now investigating how to grow and multiply haematopoietic (blood) stem cells from

cord blood in order to use them in a wider range of therapies for both children and adults. The history

of the issue, its effect on the paediatric population, some benefits and disadvantages of the issue, my

personal opinion on the topic, some recommendations that should be considered, and community

resources that deal with and help with the issue are all discussed in this paper.

Background

After childbirth, the blood left in the placenta (also known as "placental blood" or "umbilical

cord blood," or UCB) contains a large number of therapeutically essential hemopoietic stem and

progenitor cells. (Paolo, Sergi & Alejandro, 2019). Educated, consenting parents should donate UCB

to the group for solidarity purposes (Paolo, Sergi & Alejandro, 2019). After being obtained by

venipuncture of umbilical cord vessels by trained midwives or other health staff, UCB is transported

at a controlled temperature to UCB banks, where it is removed, cryopreserved, and processed in

liquid nitrogen for use in hemopoietic transplant procedures in patients with serious blood diseases.

(Paolo, Sergi & Alejandro, 2019). Healthcord Canada (2020) states that, about 1000 clinical trials are

currently using cord blood and cord tissue to treat diseases including breast and cervical cancer, heart

disease, diabetes, and a number of others.. Stem cells are a significant field of study in virtually every

branch of medicine due to their regenerative capacity (Healthcord, 2020). As a result, stem cells are

widely regarded as the gateway to the next big medical breakthrough (Healthcord, 2020).

Impact of trend/issue on pediatric population

The umbilical cord blood has a number of benefits, including the ability to cure cancer, blood diseases,

and auto-immune disorders. Special cells in the blood left in the cord and placenta after delivery can
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treat and even cure some serious diseases. Blood can be collected and processed, and cryopreservation

can be used to keep it safe for longer periods of time. It makes sense to retain the cord blood for family

use if the family donating it has a documented genetic condition that puts them at risk of contracting a

disease that could be cured with the cord blood. However, donating it makes more sense because it is

more likely to be needed by other children. Cord blood donation has no effect on labour or childbirth,

so the mother's and baby's wellbeing after delivery is unaffected. The research has also revealed a

variety of possible life-saving applications. (McCarthy, C. 2017).

Arguments for trend/issue

Cord blood is an excellent source of stem cells for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in

children with some lethal conditions, which is a major advantage. (William, Bertram, Mitchell &

Luigi, 2017). Cord blood transplantation is another method for definitive treatment for infants,

teenagers, and adults with hematologic malignancies, hemoglobinopathies, severe forms of T-

lymphocyte and other immunodeficiencies, and metabolic diseases. (William, Bertram, Mitchell &

Luigi, 2017). Developing universal screening processes for severe immunodeficiencies in a growing

number of states will increase the number of cord blood donors as well as cord blood transplants

(William, Bertram, Mitchell & Luigi, 2017). Hundreds of thousands of cord blood units are stored in

public and private cord blood banks around the world for the treatment of fatal or crippling illnesses

(William, Bertram, Mitchell & Luigi, 2017).

Another significant benefit of using umbilical cord stem cells is the ease with which they can be

obtained (Joseph & Renald, 2018). Their collection procedure is painless for both the mother and the

infant, and it can be done before or after the placental expulsion (Joseph & Renald, 2018). With no

risk to the mother or the infant, an average of 120 mL of blood can be obtained (Joseph & Renald,

2018). There is also the fact that umbilical cord blood has more stem cells per volume unit than bone

marrow (Joseph & Renald, 2018). Umbilical cord stem cells are often more tolerant of “Human
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Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)” mismatches than bone marrow stem cells, resulting in a lower risk of

graft-versus-host disease when umbilical cord stem cells are transplanted (Joseph & Renald, 2018).

Arguments against trend/issue

According to Irina, Timur & Gennady, (2018) the key drawback of umbilical cord as a tissue

source is its transience: it is only available for a limited time after delivery. Its careful

cryopreservation, with all efforts made to protect the useful components (cells, stromal matrices,

specialised tissues) during storage, can provide an effective solution to this problem. The umbilical

cord after its recovery postpartum, is only viable for a limited period of time (Irina, Timur & Gennady,

2018). With appropriate preservation technique, such as cryopreservation, useful components of the

umbilical cord like the cells, specialised tissues, stromal matrices can be preserved for a longer period

of time, thus providing an effective solution to this problem (Irina, Timur & Gennady, 2018).

Another drawback is that the expense of private banking for a family is high, and it is not

covered by insurance, so the unit can never be used (William, Bertram, Mitchell & Luigi, 2017).

Private cord blood banks are underused for care, less controlled for quality control, and more costly

for the family, according to quality-assessment reports by many national and international accrediting

bodies (William, Bertram, Mitchell & Luigi, 2017). Compared to public cord blood banks, private

cord blood banks are less used for treatments, very little importance is given for quality control, and is

also comparatively expensive for families.

Personal view on the trend/issue

The umbilical cord fluid is loaded with the stem cells. They can treat cancer, blood diseases like

anemia and some immune system disorders which will alter the bodies’ ability to defend itself. The

umbilical cord is easy to collect and has ten times more stem cells than those collected from the bone

marrow. Due to these important benefits, there should be more functional public cord blood banks. So

that a wider range of population, will have access to the same. Since blood left over in the umbilical

cord and the placenta after a baby is born has special cells that can treat and even cure some serious
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pathological conditions, parents should be encouraged to save and donate their baby cord blood for

future purposes.

Recommendations for educational needs

One possible teaching could be to encourage the private bank to promote better quality control

testing and maintenance. Another possible teaching could be about educating parents of newborns on

the importance of donating umbilical cord blood for stem cell research as well as for stem cell

preservation. Also, parents should be encouraged to donate cord blood to a public bank so that it is

available for a wider population.

Community resources supporting the trend/issue

One of the resources in the community is “Healthcord”, Canada’s first cord blood bank. The

parents can register online, once they got enrolled, they will receive a collection kit and they should

hold onto the kit until the delivery date. On the delivery day, they can bring the kit and should give it

to the delivery team. Cord blood will be collected in the cord blood collection bag after the baby is

born. The doctor will then take the umbilical cord and place it in the cord tissue collection vessel. If

you have a natural delivery or a C-section, these measures stay the same. Using computer-controlled-

rate freezing, stem cells from cord blood and tissue samples are purified, condensed, and cryogenically

stored. The child's stem cells can be preserved indefinitely and used at any time. They may be used to

handle other members of the family as well (Healthcord, 2020).

Another community resource is the “Canadian Blood Services”. Registration and a signed

permission to collect consent form are necessary to begin the collection process. Cord blood is

obtained as soon as the infant and placenta/umbilical cord are delivered safely. They do not interfere

with the labour and delivery process. Donating cord blood to the Cord Blood Bank of Canadian Blood

Services is simple and free. After the safe birth of a healthy infant, cord blood collection starts. The

procedure is painless and healthy for both mom and baby. They will process, analyse, and store the
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donated cord blood unit for a potential patient in need if the remaining blood has enough cells to

qualify for a stem cell transplant (Canadian Blood Services).

Conclusion

The umbilical cord is loaded with stem cells, which is a harmless treatment for several serious

pathological conditions such as cancer, blood malignancies, inherited blood and metabolic disorders.

The stem cells from the cord rarely carry any infectious diseases and are half as likely to be rejected as

adult stem cells. For these reasons, parents should be encouraged to donate and preserve stem cells

from the umbilical cord.

Reference

Arutyunyan, I., Fatkhudinov, T. & Sukhikh, G. (2018) Umbilical cord tissue cryopreservation: a short

review. Stem Cell Res Ther 9, 236. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-018-0992-0

Azzopardi, J.I. and Blundell, R. (2018) Review: Umbilical Cord Stem Cells. Stem Cell Discovery, 8,

1-11. https://doi.org/10.4236/scd.2018.81001

Canadian blood services. (n. d.). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.blood.ca/en

Claire, M. (2017, October 31). Why parents should save their baby’s cord blood – and give it away.

Retrieved from Harvard health blog: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/parents-save-babys-

cord-blood-give-away-2017103112654. (n.d.).

Healthcord. (2020, July 14). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from

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