Finally, a step forward! We owe a warm thanks to the U for helping the nation take this step.
The national debate over embryonic stem cells has always been heated, and that debate won’t settle anytime soon. But there is some common ground surrounding stem cells on which both liberals and conservatives can stand: stem cells harvested from umbilical cords.
Within the next two months, the U is planning to open a public umbilical cord stem cell bank where mothers can donate the blood from their children’s umbilical cords to collect stem cells for the public’s use.
Linda Kelly, director of cell therapy at the U, said, “(Donating) is a wonderful thing for Utahns to do — the tissue would be discarded anyway.”
The blood from umbilical cords has uses that far exceed your run-of-the-mill transplants and infusions. This blood is rich with adult stem cells that have the potential to treat diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and some types of cancer. Currently, cord blood stem cells have been used as an alternative for bone marrow, and peripheral blood is also capable of reconstructing blood cells.
I can think of individuals in my life who have been diagnosed with some of the ailments listed above, and I’m sure you wouldn’t have to think long before you could, too. Cord blood has the potential to help treat these diseases if patients can find a match. Although the full potential of cord stem cells is still under debate, the potential alone is reason enough to support these banks wholeheartedly.
Compared with bone marrow, stem cells from cord blood are easier to collect and transplant. The typical turnaround from diagnosis of a disease to delivery of bone marrow is up to six months, but with cord blood, treatment could begin within a couple weeks. Also, cord blood stem cells offer a broader range for potential matches in patients than bone marrow. This larger pool helps to ensure that everyone has access to a potential treatment for his or her ailment.
“With enough donations, 100 percent of those who need a transplant could potentially get a match,” Kelly said.
Currently, there are more than 20 public banks for cord blood across the nation that collectively house up to 50,000 donations. According to the National Cord Blood Program, these donations have helped treat numerous forms of leukemia, lymphomas and genetic diseases such as severe combined immune deficiency.
But this is only the beginning. Scientists hypothesize that the potential range of illnesses cord stem cells can treat doesn’t compare with those treatable with embryonic stem cells. But until Dubya is out of office, we’ll try to help who we can right now.
As a nation, our health-care woes aren’t anywhere near perfect or fair, but at least with scientists taking new steps with stem cells, we are getting closer to preserving our health for longer periods of time. Thanks should go to the U for being on the forefront of providing cures and treatment for the people.
