Stem Cells are the Master Cells of the body. They have a remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as and when the need arises. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell or a brain cell.

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.

Cord blood is a rich source of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs). Not only is it a valuable source of stem cells, but is also genetically unique to the baby and family. Cord blood offers unique advantages over bone marrow during transplantation.

What is Cord Blood?
Umbilical cord Blood passes nutrients, oxygen and immunity to your child. It acts as the lifeline, protecting and helping it to grow inside the womb. Umbilical Cord blood bank is a facility that stores and preserves the stem cells derived from the umbilical cord of the new born baby. The first 5 minutes following birth, gives only one chance to collect and save your newborn's umbilical cord blood. This umbilical cord blood is an abundant source of stem cells. These stem Cells are the Master cells of the human body and carry the ability to create tissue, organs and organ systems. Besides being able to divide indefinitely, they possess the ability to transform into specialized cells. These stem cells are used to treat many life threatening diseases.

 

Why Bank Stem Cells?

We celebrate the arrival of a new born; we hope and pray that our child will live a long and a healthy life. Babycell offers you the opportunity to preserve this love of yours for years. When you take a decision to store your baby’s cord blood, you are saving that lifeline which could help treat a long list of life threatening diseases for many years to come. It gives this new life, the opportunity to have a powerful source of cells in the event of a transplant with no immunological rejection risk. If your family has a clinical history with diseases such as blood cancers, or for ethnical minorities or mixed ethnical families saving baby’s cord blood is a sensitive decision and could turn out to be the most important decision of life, as it is difficult to find a matching donor at the time of transplant. We should also remember that causes of many types of cancer and other diseases still remain unknown and, sometimes, they come up even when there is no history amongst the family.

 

To date, umbilical cord blood has been used in more than 12,000 transplantations for children and adults. Research has demonstrated that cord blood stem cells can differentiate into other types of cells in the body. The regenerative qualities of stem cells have been brought to the forefront in the field of cellular repair. Stem cells have been labeled an important biological resource and researchers are conducting more and more studies to unlock the potential of umbilical cord blood stem cells in future applications for diseases like Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Heart and Liver Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson's Disease, Spinal Cord Injury and Stroke.