What are the advantages of using blood stem cells from cord blood compared to those from the bone marrow?
Painless and Risk-free Collection Blood stem cells from cord blood are easier to harvest. The harvesting process does not entail any risk to both mother and child. Harvesting blood stem cells from the bone marrow requires general anaesthesia, which entails some health risk. Bone marrow harvesting also involves some pain, as opposed to no pain at all with cord blood harvesting. Readily Available The stored cord blood stem cells are always readily available. This is a potential advantage as we do not waste precious time searching for potential blood stem cell donors. In some conditions, e.g. Aplastic Anemia, the time to a stem cell transplant is critical and having some blood stem cells readily available is very important and can minimise disease progression. Benefits of Cord Blood Stem Cells Cord blood is less likely to contain certain infectious agents like some viruses such as cytomegalovirus that can pose a risk to transplant recipients. Some studies suggest that cord blood may have
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- What are the advantages of using blood stem cells from cord blood compared to those from the bone marrow?
