Where are stem cells found?
Stem cells are found throughout the body at all stages of life. Adult stem cells are found in bone marrow, the umbilical cord, the adult brain and spinal cord, skin, blood, intestines and other tissues. Embryonic stem cells are derived from blastocysts, 4- to 5-day old microscopic balls of cells fertilized in the laboratory.
When the baby is born, the umbilical cord is severed and thrown away. This umbilical cord that is around 20 cm long will contain between 20 to 100 cc of blood. This is called cord blood and it contains cells that have the intelligence to rejuvenate diseased cells in any part of the body and grow into a diseased part that is not functioning.
Related Questions
- Do you think people get confused between obtaining stem cells from un-needed embryos, bone marrow, and now umbilical cord blood? Is the confusion understandable, or is at all the same science?
- What is the difference between stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood and those derived from bone marrow and fat tissue?
- How is it that American doctors can’t get the umbilical cord stem cells, and foreign ones can?
