WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?
WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?
Stem Cells are special cells with the amazing power to transform into any tissue or organ in your body. It is due to these special powers that they have the potential to treat over 80 approved life threatening diseases and disorders. Although, there are various types of stem cells that exist in the human body, stem cell therapy makes use of two main types, namely Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSC) and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC).
The great thing about stem cells is that they can be extracted from a number of sources, like embryo, umbilical cord, cord blood, placenta, bone marrow, teeth, etc. The most abundant source of stem cells is the placenta (chorion & decidua), amniotic sac and amniotic fluid.
Over 1,00,000 families have reposed faith in ReeLabs's banking, research and approved applications.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF STEM CELLS?
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They are non-toxic and devoid of side effects compared to its toxic drug counterparts.
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Their use for therapeutic purposes can ensure lower treatment costs and promote longer lives.
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Stem cell therapy addresses both better treatment giving longer life, and lower costs.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
Their potential to treat a number of ailments is getting increasingly evident. This lies in their extremely flexible nature, because of which they can effortlessly divide and renew themselves, and take the form of a desired tissue or cell. Following are some of the unique properties of stem cells, that may make them ideal for treating a number of approved disorders:
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Plasticity: Stem cells can use one tissue and create cell types of entirely different tissues.
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Homing: They have a unique ability to get attracted to the site of injury.
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Engraftment: This property helps them to unite with the new tissue, thus regenerating tissue to integrate with the parent tissue smoothly.
TYPES OF STEM CELLS
There are various types of stem cells that exist in the human body. Depending on the disorder required to be treated, the following three types that may be used:
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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC): These are found mostly in the bone marrow but also in peripheral blood, cord blood etc. These cells are hematopoietic or blood forming by nature. Thus, they generally give rise to blood forming cells eg. red blood cells, white blood cells etc.
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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC): These are bone marrow populating cells (different from HSC) that are present in the stroma. They possess the ability to differentiate into various cell types including, osteocytes (bone), adipocytes (fat), chondrocytes (cartilage), myocytes (muscle), cardiomyocytes (cardiac muscle) and neurons (nerves) and blood vessels, and thus play a vital role in their regeneration as and when required.
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Pluripotent stem cells (PSC): These are stem cell that have the characteristics of both Hematopoietic & Mesenchymal cells. Thus, they are capable of differentiating into all types tissues in the body.
AUTOLOGOUS STEM CELL TRANSPLANT
Autologous is when the donor and the receiver are the same person. Much like umbilical cord blood banking, stem cells are obtained from a person, processed and cryo-stored for transplantation in future. This has gained tremendous precedence in major Indian cities in the past decade.
MORE THAN JUST BANKING
At ReeLabs, we don't just stop at banking. Our scientists have worked diligently for the past five years to develop protocols which harness the true potential of stem cells. Find out why you should bank with us and learn why so many parents prefer ReeLabs when it comes to stem cell banking. Read more about our story.
