Scientists are convinced they have found the key to curing some types of cancer, diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver, growing damaged body parts and beauty procedures to keep you looking young without the need for Botox.
The magical ingredient? Blood from your umbilical cord.
Most of us, of course, have already missed that chance, but scientists say storing blood from our children’s umbilical cords, rich in stem cells, which can be transformed into any type of body tissue, will allow them to benefit from rapidly advancing health procedures.
Use of stem cells is still undergoing clinical trials in Ukraine, but scientists say they should soon be able to use the groundbreaking treatments under research here and abroad.
“We were working with stem cells in the Soviet union in 1985,” said Yuriy Gladkykh, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Cell Therapy, a private facility. “We are not behind the West. The opportunity is in our hands.”
Scientists say the possibilities are endless. At the end of 2008, Spanish scientists used stem cells to grow a whole new trachea to transplant into a patient.
The advantage of growing organs and other body parts from a person’s own stem cells is that it reduces the risk of rejection by the body’s own immune system.
Galyna Lobunzeva, director of the Kyiv Cryobank, said stem cells could help to cure some types of cancer or to recover from other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Such treatment suppresses the immune system, but stem cell treatment restores the system and helps the patient to recover faster.
Liver cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, diabetes, ischemia (restriction of blood supply to the arms and legs) and other diseases could also be cured with stem cells.
A lot of research is being carried at the Ukrainian Institute of Cells Therapy, including treatment for diabetes, pancreatitis and hepatitis.
Much of the research has yielded successful results, and clinical trials over the next two-three years will eventually allow the treatments to be registered and used.
“We had a case when a 67-year-old man could not walk. He had critical ischemia of the legs and was set for amputation,” said Vasyl Shabliy, deputy director of Cryobank. “His pain was unendurable. But after stem cells treatment he can now walk. His blood vessels were repaired.”
Use of placenta from collected material for rejuvenation and regeneration also offers opportunities for beauty treatment without plastic surgery or Botox.
Umbilical cords aren’t the only source of stem cells. They can also be taken from bone marrow and embryos, but the former is expensive and the latter hugely controversial.
Blood can be collected from an umbilical cord or placenta by a specialist in a maternity hospital. They can then be transferred to the Kyiv Cryobank, the only private store in the country.
There, the material is checked for infections and prepared for freezing. A cryoprotector is added to protect the blood cells during storage at – 196C. There is no expiry date for the material.
The price for collecting and storing the umbilical cord blood is Hr 5,900 ($750). You also need to pay $150 annually for storage.
Right now the Cell Therapy Institute’s scientists are trying to cultivate stem cells to make sure they have enough for treatment when needed.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a situation when a kid was so sick that the collected material was not enough,” said Shabliy.
The problem for the moment is that there is a limited amount of donor material.
Ukraine doesn’t have a system of public cryobanks, like the United States and Europe. Blood stored there can then be used as donor material for treatment, saving time and money in the search for a donor, as it’s much cheaper than using bone marrow.
Developing Ukraine’s own system of banks will give it access to data from European facilities, increasing the possibilities of a match and allowing purchase of donor stem cells from abroad.
The problem, unsurprisingly for Ukraine’s chronically underfunded healthcare system, is funding.
Typing of each blood sample costs around $200. “To enter the international cryobank register we need at least 500 samples, and this means $100,000 only for collecting, freezing and storing,” said Lobunzeva from Kyiv Cryobank.
The use of cryobanks to freeze material is already bringing hope and life in Ukraine. Part or all of a woman’s ovaries can be stored using the freezing technique if she has to undergo chemotherapy, which can destroy the chances of having children.
After the therapy is over, the ovary can be implanted back, and the possibility of having kids is very high.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Raskevich be reached at [email protected]
