Stem Cell Storage:
Why and How It Matters

Introduction

Stem cell storage is the process of collecting and preserving stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue at birth. This page provides a comprehensive overview of stem cell storage, including what it is, how it works, its uses in medical treatments, the collection and storage process, and why it is important for expectant parents and families considering cord blood banking. Stem cell storage is considered biological insurance for future health, offering the potential to treat over 80 different diseases and providing families with peace of mind about future treatment options. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells for medical treatments, while cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells for tissue regeneration. Cryopreservation allows stem cells to remain viable for many years when stored correctly. Choosing a reputable bank involves checking for necessary accreditations, and quality control is essential for ensuring the safety and efficacy of stored stem cells. This guide is designed for expectant parents and families who want to understand the value, process, and benefits of cord blood and tissue banking.

Why Store Stem Cell Storage?

Stem cell storage means collecting stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue at birth and preserving them with cryogenic freezing so they remain viable for possible future treatment. Smart Cells provides this service for expectant parents in the UAE and Gulf region who want to protect their child’s long-term health, especially families with a history of blood, genetic, or immune disorders.

Stem cell storage is considered biological insurance for future health, as it offers a unique opportunity to safeguard your child’s health and potentially that of other family members. Umbilical cord stem cells are used today in transplants and are being studied for wider regenerative medicine applications. As the body’s building blocks, particular types of stem cells can under certain circumstances regenerate tissue and, importantly, support repair and healing where injury or disease has caused damage.

Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for forming blood and immune cells and are used in medical treatments for a variety of diseases. Cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells, which are important for tissue regeneration and have shown promise in regenerative medicine. Stored cord blood can treat over 80 different diseases, and ongoing research continues to expand these possibilities. Cryopreservation allows stem cells to remain viable for many years when stored correctly, making this a one-time opportunity that can matter for your child and potentially other family members.

When considering cord blood banking, it’s important to understand the difference between private and public banks. Private cord blood banks store blood for family use only, providing exclusive access to your stored sample. Public cord blood banks are donation centers for anyone in need, making stored units available for unrelated patients or research.

This guide explains what cord blood and cord tissue stem cells can be used for, how collection works at birth, how SmartMax processing and cryopreservation protect the sample for long-term storage, and why this one-time opportunity can matter for your child and potentially other family members.

What do stem cells do?

Stem cells start off as unspecialised cells. Given the right chemical and genetic signals, they can develop into many different cell types such as blood, bone, tissue and organ cells. A stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood or tissue can potentially be used to replace diseased cells with healthy new cells or to enhance the body’s own repair mechanisms.

An umbilical cord stem cell transplant can be used to replace diseased cells with healthy new cells.

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Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, which are specialized cells that can develop into all types of blood cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. These cells are essential for medical treatments such as transplants for blood disorders, immune deficiencies, and certain cancers.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells, which are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types, including bone, cartilage, muscle, and fat cells. These cells are particularly important for tissue regeneration and are being studied for their potential in regenerative medicine.

Why store my baby’s umbilical cord stem cells?

You or a loved one may one day be affected by a disease or illness stem cells can treat. You can choose to store umbilical cord blood or tissue stem cells – or ideally, both, as each contains different stem cells that can be used to treat different conditions.

One chance

Storing your baby’s stem cells at birth is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture a valuable resource that could be used in the treatment of serious illness or disease in the future. Your baby’s stem cells can also potentially match and treat their siblings or parents. Storing these cells at birth effectively preserves them in their most healthy and potent state.

A rich source

In the past, the main source of stem cells came from bone marrow. Today however, we’ve found through intensive research that umbilical cord blood and tissue are a rich source of particularly potent stem cells such as hematopoietic stem cells (from cord blood) and mesenchymal stem cells (from cord tissue).

Proven success

The first successful stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood stem cells was in 1988. The patient was Matthew Farrow, a boy suffering from a serious blood disorder called Fanconi’s Anaemia, and the cord blood was obtained from his new-born sister. Many more successful transplants for a range of other conditions have been undertaken since.

Treatment possibilities

The potential for stem cells to replace damaged cells and tissue is an exciting one. There are over 80 diseases for which stem cell transplants are considered a standard treatment option. Clinical trials are underway on many more, including on viruses such as COVID-19. Research into use of stem cells from umbilical cord tissue is looking particularly promising.

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Transitioning from the reasons to store stem cells, let’s explore the specific uses and applications of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

What are umbilical cord blood stem cells used for?

Transplant

A cord blood stem cell transplant can replace diseased cells with healthy new cells and rebuild an individual’s blood and immune system. Cord blood stem cells are less likely to be rejected than adult stem cells. More recently, cord blood stem cells have been shown to form other tissues such as nerve and bone cells.

Potential

Cord blood stem cells have considerable potential in regenerative medicine. Research has shown these cells can develop into a range of cell types such as nerve, bone, skin, heart, and liver cells. They have also been shown to stimulate the body’s own repair systems.

Future

These exciting developments have already translated into early clinical treatment of ischaemic heart disease and some neurological conditions. The future of regenerative medicine holds much promise, and cord blood is likely to play a major part in the advancement of our ability to treat human disease through potential treatments.

Now that we’ve covered the uses of cord blood stem cells, let’s look at how cord blood and tissue are collected and stored.

Viable CD34+

Read more about cord blood stem cells, the way we count them and why numbers are important.

Umbilical cord blood and tissue compared: a current and future perspective

It is well recognised that stem cells from cord blood and cord tissue have remarkable therapeutic potential, however the types of cells differ in each product. In addition, current research is exploring additional regenerative medicine uses for cord tissue for future use.

Transitioning from the comparison, let’s discuss the collection and storage process in detail.

How are cord blood and cord tissue collected and stored?

Cord blood banking involves how providers collect cord blood after birth and preserve it through cell storage methods, and understanding cord blood as a valuable source of stem cells can help parents make informed decisions. In cord tissue banking, small segments of the umbilical cord are collected, cryopreserved and stored rather than focusing on placenta-based services.

Cord blood collection is non-invasive, and volume-reduced processing helps maximise stem cell viability.

When choosing a bank, it is important to check the required licences, accreditations, and certifications; choosing a reputable bank involves checking for necessary accreditations, and quality control is essential for ensuring the safety and efficacy of stored stem cells.

Transitioning from the collection and storage process, let’s examine the clinical acceptance and applications of cord blood stem cells.

Cord blood stem cells are well accepted in clinical use

Clinical Use of Cord Blood Stem Cells

Cord blood contains haematopoietic (blood-making) stem cells, and has been successfully used for over 25 years in the treatment of more than 80 conditions including blood and bone marrow disorders such as leukaemias and anaemias, immune deficiencies and certain genetic disorders; cord blood transplants have now exceeded over 45,000 worldwide (1). Compared with bone marrow, cord blood contains 10 times more stem cells.

Cord blood from a child itself, using their own cord blood, or from a sibling has the amazing potential to restore the bone marrow, blood and immune cell systems following chemotherapy, and when a family member needs treatment a good match is important in transplant settings. If sibling cord blood is used, then the donor cells may also have the ability to attack cancer cells remaining in a patient or replace a bone marrow deficiency with healthy cells after chemotherapy, provided there is a suitable match. In private cord blood storage, the stored blood is kept by private cord blood banks for family use only.

The first cord blood transplant, which was undertaken in 1988, set the scene for the remarkable success story of this treatment option. An interview with Matthew Farrow who received this pioneering cord blood transplant can be read here (2).

Beyond established clinical uses, cord blood is also being explored for its potential in regenerative medicine, as discussed in the next section.

Cord blood stem cells in regenerative medicine

Cord Blood in Regenerative Medicine

In recent years, cord blood has also shown potential in the field of regenerative medicine and is undergoing clinical trials in the treatment of different conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, diabetes, stroke, and brain injuries. The benefit of cord blood in regenerative therapies has been attributed to the presence of non-hematopoietic cells called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within the cord blood, which may support repair by signalling to other cells and are being studied as part of stem cell treatment development.

Transitioning from cord blood, let’s explore the regenerative power of cord tissue stem cells.

Regenerative power of cord tissue stem cells

Cord Tissue Stem Cells: Regenerative Power

Although cord blood contains MSCs, the Wharton’s jelly layer inside cord tissue has been shown to be exceptionally rich in these particular stem cells. This means that cord tissue banking for future regenerative cellular therapeutics is particularly relevant. MSCs are key players in this field as they help to heal or regenerate injured or diseased tissues. As a type of adult stem cells used in regenerative medicine, they have the ability to differentiate into certain different cell types. However, more importantly, they can damp down harmful immune processes, possess anti-inflammatory potential, and also produce a range of proteins that can promote healing of damaged tissues at the site of injury.

The possible uses of MSCs, such as those that are abundant in cord tissue, are showing encouraging results in clinical trials. Studies are exploring potential treatments for a wider range of conditions, including cardiac disease, neural and spinal cord injuries, skeletal injuries, skin wounds, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases to name a few (3, 4, 5).

Transitioning from the regenerative power of cord tissue, let’s look at the current landscape of clinical trials using cord tissue.

Clinical trials using cord tissue

As of April 2020, there were 155 clinical trials listed worldwide using MSCs from cord tissue. The Polski Bank Komorek Macierzystych (PBKM), with which Smart Cells is affiliated, is a leading bioscience institute-style stem cell facility and provider of MSCs from cord tissue for clinical trials. By March 2021, PBKM had supplied MSCs from cord tissue Wharton’s jelly for the treatment of 1687 patients on registered clinical trials. Very recently, the intravenous transplantation of MSCs sourced from cord tissue has been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia (6).

Transitioning from clinical trials, let’s consider the present and future outlook for cord blood and tissue stem cells.

Present and future

Although cord blood and tissue stem cells do share some benefits, each has many advantages of their own. We are living in an exciting era in modern medicine. Both cord blood and cord tissue support established care and future use in regenerative medicine, with applications in a wide variety of established and cutting-edge treatments that hold promise for important and unprecedented developments in stem cell therapeutics (7, 8), while current research continues to expand potential treatments for life threatening diseases and chronic conditions alike.

References

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Diseases Treated with Cord Blood and Cord Tissue Stem Cells

Cancer

Acute Leukaemia
Chronic Leukaemia
High-Risk Solid Tumors
Hodgkin & Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Blood disorders

Aplastic Anaemia
Beta Thalassemia
Diamond-Blackfan Anaemia
Fanconi’s Anaemia
Sickle Cell Disease

Neurological disorders*

Traumatic Brain Injury
Cerebral Palsy
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
HSV Encephalitis & NMDA Receptor Antibody Encephalitis

Immune disorders

Chronic Granulomatous Disease
Hystiocytic Disorders
Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome

Metabolic disorders

Krabbe Disease
Hurler Syndrome
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
Sanfilippo Syndrome
Hunter Syndrome

Cord Tissue

The future of cord tissue stem cell therapy is promising. Cord tissue stem cells can form a number of different tissue types, and current research is exploring additional uses in regenerative medicine for broader future use.

Reports by leading scientists have also shown the Wharton’s Jelly of the umbilical cord (the gelatinous tissue in the cord) is a rich source of a different but equally important type of stem cell: adult stem cells.

How can cord tissue stem cells help your child?

Cord tissue holds different cells to those found in umbilical cord blood, so the decision to store tissue often sits alongside preserving your baby’s cord blood as part of a wider family choice – and many trials are underway into how these cells can treat other diseases and conditions such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders. By preserving both tissue and cord blood, your family can support long term health by safeguarding baby’s stem cells and keeping the widest array of treatment options available.

Cord tissue has been shown by researchers to be particularly rich in mesenchymal (MSC) precursor cells that have the ability, under the right conditions, to differentiate into different cell types such as bone, cartilage, nerve, adipose, cardiac, smooth muscle, hepatic and skin cells and are therefore extremely promising in regenerative medicine.

They have also been shown to be capable of producing certain proteins that can help to repair damaged tissues and can reduce inflammation.

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Some early clinical trials are under way for certain diseases, including studies exploring potential treatments for serious and chronic conditions. See more at ClinicalTrials.gov and World Health Organization. View references

Additional Conditions and Applications

Multiple Sclerosis

Stroke

Diabetes

Parkinson’s Disease

Artificial valves and capillaries

Gene therapy for delivery of anti-tumour agents for cancer treatments

Treatment of chronic autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Crohn’s Disease

1,900+ cord tissue units released from our group for transplantation

Store up to 16 segments of cord tissue for each customer

Our group owns two laboratories which fulfil the Good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards required by European Medicines Agency

We are the only family bank in Europe, of which the cord tissue stem cells are used extensively in therapies, which means procedures used in our laboratories are Therapy Approved

FamiCord Group goes an extra mile not only to freeze and storage a cord tissue stem cells, but also to prepare the advance therapy medicinal product when needed. Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are medicines for human use that are based on genes, tissues or cells. They offer groundbreaking new opportunities for the treatment of disease and injury.

How do stem cells work?

Liz Bonnin investigates new stem-cell research that could change the face of organ transplant surgery. Watch this absorbing clip from series 5 of BBC 1 series Bang Goes the Theory.

Visit our YouTube channel to see more videos.

Our collection process in five easy steps

Families in the UAE and Gulf region can benefit from expert stem cell collection and cord blood banking that follows rigorous, clinically validated procedures.

1
Order your stem cell collection kit online or by contacting us

Order your stem cell kit online or call us at +971(04)4298382. Your path to wellness begins with a free consultation, email us at [email protected]
2
Inform your clinician and bring the kit so the team can collect cord blood safely after delivery

Notify your doctor of your choice to store your baby’s stem cells and remember to bring the kit to the hospital on the day of delivery. Easy steps, lifelong benefits await!
3
Kit Collection

Contact Smart Cells after gathering your baby’s umbilical cord blood. Our driver will promptly transport it to the Dubai Healthcare City lab, ensuring maximum safety with temperature-controlled containers.
4
Samples are processed

Your baby’s umbilical cord blood undergoes thorough examination, processing, and secure cryogenic freezing at the Smart Cells laboratory, supporting cord blood stored for future use over many years when handled correctly.
5
Samples are stored for the agreed period of time

Smart Cells will send you a confirmation email, detailing the secure storage of your baby’s sample. Your little one’s future health is in safe hands!

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FAQ’s

How long can cord blood be stored?
Smart Cells has an HTA licence which covers procurement, testing, processing, storage, import, release, and export of cord blood cells and tissue. Smart Cells has ISO9001:2015 certification, and participates in the UK National External Quality Assessment Service (NEQAS) quality assurance scheme for full blood and CD34 cell counting. Cord blood banking is regulated by national health authorities, and when cryopreserved and stored correctly, stem cells may remain viable for many years.

Smart Cells takes ongoing Quality Assurance very seriously, with a rigorous programme of validating and auditing all critical practices and procedures. Fully trained and experienced staff operate according to validated procedures. The Smart Cells laboratory technical team are educated to degree and post graduate degree level in relevant biomedical sciences and use globally recognised techniques and technologies in the state-of-the-art processing facility.

The Smart Cells approach to ongoing Quality Assurance, regulatory compliance, integrity, and transparency is supported and overseen by the Scientific Director, Head of Laboratory Operations, and Quality Officer. When choosing a bank, it is important to check the required licences, accreditations, and certifications; professional guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists does not support routine private banking for every family.

Cord blood transplantation is a clinically effective form of treatment for many patients with cancer and blood diseases who need a stem cell transplant. More recently, cord blood has become a relevant source of cells in regenerative medicine.

There is no definitive consensus on how long frozen cord blood can be stored but scientists and clinicians worldwide are of the opinion that if cryopreserved and stored properly, then storage can be for decades or more. Smart Cells use state of the art processing, cryopreservation, and 24/7 monitored storage technologies designed to optimise the viability of stem cells. In vapour phase nitrogen temperatures below -170 degrees Celsius, all metabolic activities in cells are suspended, meaning there should be no deterioration. The majority of public and private banks worldwide use similar tried and tested technologies.

Key work undertaken by Professor Hal Broxmeyer, a distinguished world leader in the field of cord blood therapeutics has demonstrated efficient cell recovery at five years, 10 years, 15 years, and most recently 23.5 years after cells were cryopreserved (1). Cord blood storage has been available for around 29 years, although in the early years not many units were being stored and used. It is therefore not possible to look at empirical data beyond that time point, however Professor Broxmeyer’s team plan to perform a 30-year assessment on the oldest cord blood specimens (2). Realistically, it is in the last 18 years approximately that transplantation using cord blood has become a fully accepted therapeutic option and experts in the field have confidence that ongoing banking and use should continue (3).

At Smart Cells, six years is the longest interval between storage and thawing of frozen cord blood cells that were given to a patient as a transplant which was satisfactory in terms of cell recovery and engraftment. No units older than this have yet been requested.

As part of Smart Cells’ Quality Assurance programme and regulatory compliance, the team regularly undertake validation studies to ensure that the processing, freezing, and storage of cord blood is efficient and that total nucleated and viable CD34+ stem cell recoveries are satisfactory after thawing.

If procedures to process, store, and thaw stem cells are of a high standard, the main factor that can potentially affect the ultimate post-thaw recovery is the original quality of the cord blood sample itself. Those with initial low viability/low cell numbers may not withstand the thawing process in the same way as a more cellular and robust product.

It may take some time before clinical studies demonstrate conclusively that cord blood stem cells are viable after long-term frozen storage beyond 30 or more years. Clinical proof will require treating of patients with cord blood units that have been in storage for decades but for now, Smart Cells’ advice aligns with current worldwide expert opinion.

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3100689/

(2) https://parentsguidecordblood.org/en/news/how-long-can-cord-blood-be-stored

(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5442723/
What is TNC?
TNC stands for Total Nucleated Cells which are the white blood cells within a cord blood sample. Smart Cells count these cells as this is an important measurement of the success of the collection in terms of cell numbers. Within the TNC cell fraction, the Smart Cells team look at numbers of CD34 positive cells. This is a critical measurement as CD34 is a marker of stem cells.

Both TNC and CD34 levels in a cord blood sample are taken into account by clinical teams when deciding if there are sufficient stem cells for treatment.
Do I need to bank for additional children/siblings?
All the reasons you banked for the first child are still valid for additional children.

If you want your baby to have the option of using his/her own cells, then you need to bank them.

If you are banking to cover siblings, then the ability to use cord blood from one child for another depends on whether they have matching HLA types and are a suitable match. Two full siblings have a 25 per cent chance of being a perfect match, a 50 per cent chance of being a half match, and a 25 per cent chance of not matching at all. For a cord blood transplant, donor and patient must match at least 4 out of 6 HLA types. The more siblings with banked cord blood, the more chance that they cover each other for possible transplants or other therapies for which sibling stem cells are accepted, and this may be more relevant for parents with a family history of certain diseases.

References: Odds of sibling match are based on haplotype inheritance: that the child will receive 3 HLA types as a group from each parent.

Source: Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood
Can I donate my cord blood and tissue stem cells?
When considering umbilical cord blood banking, many parents compare donating with storing cord blood for family use. A public bank is a donation centre, and these blood banks make stored units available for anyone in need or for research. By contrast, private cord blood banks charge fees for processing and storage and keep the samples for family use, which some families view as biological insurance. Public banks are used around 30 times more often than private storage, and use of a child’s own cord blood has been rare, with only about 400 autologous transplants reported over 20 years. Smart Cells offer a fully private storage option for the long-term storage of cord blood and tissue. This service is a paid service and the samples are solely stored for your own private use. If you wish to enquire more about cord blood and tissue donation then please visit the NHS Blood Bank or the Anthony Nolan Trust: http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/cord-blood-bank/https://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-umbilical-cord-blood
How are stem cells used in mainstream transplantation and regenerative medicine?
Stem cells may be used in mainstream transplantation to help treat blood and bone marrow cancers or diseases such as Thalassaemia or sickle cell disease. If the cells being used are autologous (from the individual for their own use), they are able to restore the blood and immune systems following chemotherapy used to treat the disease, although autologous cord blood is not typically used for some genetic conditions because the same mutation may be present in the stored cells. If the transplant is allogeneic (from one sibling to another), not only can the cells restore the blood and immune systems, but they may play a role in cancer destruction too. Where a family donor is not available, other sources such as bone marrow transplants from a matched unrelated donor may be considered.

Stem cells may also be used in regenerative medicine to help repair or replace damaged or diseased tissues or cells. These evolving regenerative applications are fairly recent and are typically being undertaken as part of research or clinical trials. View more information on the rest of the Smart Cells https://www.smartcells.com/stem-cells/why-store-stem-cells/ How can cord tissue stem cells help your child? How do stem cells work?
Do I have to pay to release or transport the sample if it is required for use in a transplant?
No additional costs will be incurred for the transportation of the sample at any time for therapeutic use.

If an HLA test is required, the cost of a low-resolution test is covered. If clinical teams require high-resolution testing, there may be an extra cost.