Newborn Stem Cell Banking 101

• Cord Blood
  • By saving cord blood you are simply saving a blood source with a limited amount of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs), that can be used in specific transplant (donor) situations.
  • Cord blood is primarily used for a matched donor for blood cancers and disorders.
  • Very few families that have saved their cord blood in a cord blood bank have used their cord blood stem cells for a matched sibling.
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells
  • By saving the live mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the actual cord blood or tissue at VitalCells, you are saving live MSCs that can naturally become other types of cells such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, vascular, and skin.
  • These cells can help regenerate, repair, and regulate immune systems and reduce inflammation.
  • Your child can use their own stem cells in conjunction with their practitioner for various conditions. There are numerous studies using MSCs for sports related injuries and autoimmune conditions.

Stem Cells are being used for an extensive list of conditions including, but not limited to sprots injuries, neurological conditions, autoimmune conditions, urological, pulmonary, and cardiovascular conditions.

• When these stem cells are reintroduced back in the child’s body, they can help repair and regenerate tissues.
• These cells also work on helping the immune system to function properly.

• VitalCells is responsible for caring and safely protecting your child’s most precious health resource.
• Your child is the owner of the cells, and you are the guardian.
• If your child needs their cells, you can easily access them in conjunction with your medical professional.

Regenerative medicine is an emerging field of medicine addressing your child’s unmet needs with next generation solutions.

• Where traditional medicine or surgery has been limited to treat symptoms of a condition or problem there is no cure for, regenerative medicine focuses on restoring, replacing, or regenerating damaged or dysfunctional cells, tissues, or organs due to injury, trauma, or disease.
• Personal stem cell therapy advancements within regenerative medicine have proven that personal stem cell banking could be the most important personal healthcare decision for your child today and for the future.

The type of stem cell you bank really does matter.

• MSCs are adult stem cells that are easily extracted from the umbilical cord blood or tissue, adipose (fat) or bone marrow that can be signaled by injured cells to home in on sites of inflammation throughout the body.
• They are immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory which allows them to be effective for many different conditions.
• They are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types including bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle.
• VitalCells can culture expand (grow) your child’s youngest MSCs to make available massive quantities of their own stem cells. This is important because it allows your child to use their stem cells throughout their lifetime.

There is a saying,” you don’t know what you don’t know” This is an important question and one that most families do not know to ask when doing their research.

• Freezing the umbilical cord without processing the cells first results in 4 scenarios:
  • A final product not ready for use
  • Having to use an outside source for processing stem cell expansion.
  • Extra unknown cost to the client.
  • Limited live stem cells when the cord is thawed.
  1. Unfortunately, most cord blood companies freeze the umbilical cord without processing the cells.
  2. oWhy do they do this? Because their focus is on cord blood sample storage NOT on the usability of stem cells.
  3. Most cord blood companies do not have the technology to process and grow stem cells.
• Live Stem Cell Count at VitalCells
  • Using multiple proprietary techniques, VitalCells counts the number of live mesenchymal stem cells before the cells are cryopreserved.
  • We perform studies on our stem cell samples to confirm they hold the proper stem cell makers, viability (live cell amount) and quantity.
  • Why do we do this? At VitalCells, we are focused on the efficacy of live mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine. Physicians will request a specific number of live stem cells for their patient. It is imperative to know how many live cells your child has and at VitalCells we make that possible.
  • VitalCells technology potentially allows billions of cells to be grown throughout the child’s lifetime.

MSCs have no expiration date when properly cryopreserved. Once cells are at -196 degrees C, the cells are metabolically inactive, and ‘suspended in time’ in theory, indefinitely. Scientific cell banking data over the last 70 years supports this method of long-term storage and its ongoing viability.

Absolutely! With VitalCells revolutionary processing technique, we ensure that your child will have ample access to their own personal stem cells far beyond one-time use and potentially can be used throughout the child’s life. It is an investment that continues to grow.

VitalCells works with top regenerative medicine physicians nationally. With an extensive network of relationships, VitalCells can connect our clients with top physicians to provide further information and education about the potential uses for your child’s cells.