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Types of Stem Cell Therapy Available
Stem cell therapies are here to stay, and are being used quite often to treat a wide variety of diseases.
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Therapy
Currently the best-known and widely used therapy, bone marrow transplant is used to treat leukemia and other types of cancers as well as various blood disorders.
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Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cells (also called leukocytes). It occurs when leukocytes begin to grow and function abnormally, becoming cancerous. Successful treatment for leukemia depends on getting rid of all the abnormal leukocytes in the patient, allowing healthy ones to grow in their place. To do this, the patient's existing bone marrow and abnormal leukocytes are first killed using a combination of chemotherapy and radiation - and the donor bone marrow containing healthy stem cells is introduced into the patient's bloodstream. The therapy is deemed successful when the stem cells migrate into the patient's bone marrow and begin producing new, healthy leukocytes to replace the abnormal cells.
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Therapy
Traditionally discarded as after-birth, umbilical cord blood is a rich source of multi-potent stem cells that have proven useful in treating the same types of medical conditions - as those treated using bone marrow stem cells and peripheral blood stem cells.
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Umbilical cord blood is collected soon after birth and stored in a stem cell bank like LifeCell, where stem cells are harvested from the cord blood and cryo-preserved at -196
oC.
Umbilical cord blood stem cells hold immense potential for stem cell therapies, due to their versatile nature and easy availability. While compared to bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, they are less prone to rejection as they have not yet developed the features that can be recognized and attacked by the recipient's immune system. And as umbilical cord blood lacks well-developed immune cells, there is a lesser chance of the transplanted cells attacking the recipient's body - a problem called graft versus host disease.
Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Therapy
Multi-potent peripheral blood stem cells can be used to treat leukemia & other cancers and various blood disorders. Researchers have devised a way of injecting 'growth factors' to cause these stem cells to grow faster and enter the blood.
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The stem cells are removed from the circulating blood through a process called apheresis. Blood is drawn from a donor's arm and is simultaneously run through a special machine that separates out the stem cells. The rest of the blood is returned to the donor and the process is repeated for a few days until enough stem cells are collected. Peripheral blood stem cells are easier to obtain than bone marrow as they can be drawn from blood. Though a less invasive option, collecting enough for therapy can be a challenge as they are found in very low quantities.
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