More on Stem Cell Therapy.Prior issues of this journal have contained several stories about the storage of umbilical cord blood umbilical cord blood Transplantation A source of primitive and stem cells that can be used to reconstitute BM destroyed by aplastic anemia or by RT or chemotherapy for CA, lymphoproliferative malignancies. See Bone marrow transplantation, Stem cell therapy. as a way to preserve stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young should the baby or another member of the family need treatment at a future date. But medical device manufacturers are also working on developing machines that can separate stem cells from donor blood, perhaps making the storage and use of umbilical cord blood unnecessary in the future. It is also important to remember that stem cell stem cell In living organisms, an undifferentiated cell that can produce other cells that eventually make up specialized tissues and organs. There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. research is still in its infancy infancy, stage of human development lasting from birth to approximately two years of age. The hallmarks of infancy are physical growth, motor development, vocal development, and cognitive and social development. and that research has not yet proven that frozen stem cells would effectively perform the intended function after several years of storage. --Orphan Disease Update, Spring 1996 |
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