Stem Cell Types In Cord Blood

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that can be drawn from your baby’s umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Umbilical cord blood contains billions of strong stem cells, which have already been employed to treat more than 80+ disorders. They may even have the key to regenerative medicine.

Cord Blood Stem cells are specialized ‘building block’ cells in the body that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. This means that when your body requires more stem cells, they can multiply and make more specialized cells to replace damaged ones. Your child’s body has around 200 different types of specialized cells, such as hair, skin, organs, brain, and nervous system cells.

In this article, we will look at several types of stem cells and their function.

Types of Stem Cells

There are three types of stem cells in umbilical cord blood. These include the following:

1. Adult Stem Cells

As the name suggests, adult stem cells are found within the specific differentiated tissues in our body. These stem cells are available in most tissues of the human body, and help produce new cells to replace those lost due to normal repair, injury, or disease. They can be extracted from umbilical cord, placenta, bone marrow, fat tissue, and skin. There are five different types of adult stem cells:

• Hematopoietic Stem Cells
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells
• Neural Stem Cells
• Epithelial Stem Cells
• Skin Stem Cells

Embryonic Stem Cells

In the case of embryonic stem cells, these are extracted from the inner cell mass of the embryo, which has undergone in-vitro fertilization. After 3-5 days of fertilization and prior to implantation, the embryo, which is called a blastocyst, contains an inner cell mass. This cell mass is made up of all the specialized cells that evolve into specialized human cells. Here are the different types of embryonic cells:

• Totipotent: These stem cells can differentiate into all possible cell types.
• Pluripotent: These cells can grow into any kind of specialized cells.
• Multipotent: These cells can grow into a closely related family of cells, like hematopoietic stem cells, into red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.
• Oligopotent: These cells can differentiate into a few different types of cells.
• Unipotent: These cells can only evolve into one type of specialized cell.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

These types of stem cells are produced in the laboratory, a sweet spot between adult stem cells and embryonic cells. They are created by introducing embryonic genes into a somatic cell, like a skin cell, which reverses its state to make it look like a stem cell.

Final Words

Stem cells come in various types, each with unique abilities and potential for medical treatments. From embryonic stem cells, which can become any cell type in the body, to adult stem cells that are more specialized, these cells offer promising avenues for treating a wide range of diseases.

Cryoviva offers a state-of-the-art medical facility for stem cell preservation in blood with cryogenic technology to help secure your child’s future from health disorders. Connect with our experts today to get your umbilical cord blood collection kit and preserve your baby’s future.