Stem Cells Essay

Submitted By Monique-Ivy
Words: 750
Pages: 3

Stem Cells
By Monique Ivy

What is Cord Blood
Cord blood comes from a newborn’s umbilical cord and can be collected immediately after birth. It contains powerful stem cells that have been used to regenerate healthy blood and immune systems.
So far, cord blood stem cells have been used in more than 35,000 transplants worldwide.
Doctors are also researching cord blood as potential treatment for conditions that currently have no cure.

• A newborn’s umbilical cord tissue contains several different types of cells, each with different potential uses.
• Because cord tissue research is still in its early stages, CBR stores your baby's cord tissue whole, preserving all of the cells within it for your family's potential future use. The cord tissue is cryogenically stored for long-term preservation so it can be processed to extract the cells needed using the best technology of the future.

What is Cord Tissue
• Cord tissue contains unique and powerful stem cells that are being investigated for their ability to help repair and heal the body in different ways than cord blood stem cells.
These cells have potential for use in regenerative medicine and are currently being evaluated in 30+ clinical trials to treat heart disease, stroke, and spinal cord damage, among other conditions.

Cord Tissue
• Contains unique and powerful stem cells that may help repair and heal the body in different ways than cord blood. These cells create structural and connective tissue and are currently being evaluated in 30+ clinical trials to treat heart disease, stroke and spinal cord damage, among others.

What Are Stem Cells
• Stem cells are different from other kinds of cells in the body. All stem cells have three general properties:
• They are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods
• They are unspecialized
• They can give rise to specialized cell types

• Smart
They will be a perfect match for his or her own stem cells and may be a match for a sibling or other family member
• Unique
Stem cells “know” how to find injured cells and tissue in the body and initiate a healing process
• Powerful
Stem cells “know” how to find injured cells and tissue in the body and initiate a healing process

What are Stem Cells
Cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types but also retain the ability an renew themselves through cell division

Unspecialized Stem Cells
Stem cells are unspecialized. One of the fundamental properties of a stem cell is that it does not have any tissuespecific structures that allow it to perform specialized functions. Unspecialized Stem Cells
• Ex. A stem cell cannot pump blood through the body, cannot carry oxygen molecules through the bloodstream. • However, unspecialized stem cells can give rise to specialized cells, including heart muscle cells, blood cells or nerve cells

Research on Stem Cells
• Until recently scientists primarily worked with two kinds of stem cells from animals and humans: embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic “somatic” or “adult” stem cells.
• Scientists discovered ways to receive