Red Blood Cells are Toxic and Dangerous
According to the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, Red Blood Cells (RBCs) can be dangerous to patients and it’s recommended that they are removed from cord blood before storing. However, it is surprising that most newborn banks in the United States cryopreserve stem cells with Red Blood Cells, as these facilities have procedures to reduce, but not fully eliminate the number of RBCs. This is problematic as RBCs tend not to survive the freezing and thawing process, and can rupture the cell membrane that spills the cell’s contents and can potentially cause reactions if these samples are administered.
We are here to help when you need us
As a prospective parent, you are looking at storing your baby’s stem cells because you want the best possible protection for their health, not just today, but for the rest of their life. At first, choosing the right stem cell bank can seem a little daunting so we have created a list of important questions on this topic.
A stem cell is essentially a cell with a blank slate of your DNA. It can replicate and differentiate into other cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are derived from adipose, bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood/tissue can be signaled by injured cells and hone in on sites of inflammation throughout the body. MSCs are immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including bone (osteoblasts), cartilage (chondrocytes), muscle (myocytes) and fat (adipocytes).5
Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) Count measures the total number of cells that contain a nucleus (excluding red blood cells, but is not limited to just stem cells) in a sample. Stem cells only comprise a small portion of the TNC count. Most importantly, TNC count does not measure the viability of the cells which states if the cells counted are dead or alive.
Total Nucleated Cell (TNC) count shows the total cells both dead and alive in a sample. Only a tiny percentage of the TNC count comprises actual stem cells versus other types of cells.
We verify life stem cell count multiple different ways. We perform viability analysis on all samples before cryopreservation and before shipping samples, which counts the total number of live stem cells. Internally, we have multiple techniques, both automated and manual, for live stem cell counting. We also perform studies on our stem cell samples to confirm they hold the proper stem cell markers.
At VitalCells, we prioritize the number of live stem cells that we can safely cryopreserve for our clients. With our revolutionary technology, CellMaxx™, we can obtain potentially billions of your newborn’s mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) using only the cord blood and cord tissue samples. The placenta is often difficult to keep sterile during transportation and VitalCells does not need any further samples besides the cord blood and cord tissue. Given that VitalCells can provide up to 10x more MSCs in our basic plan and 1,000x MSCs in total versus leading competitors, including those who bank the placenta, it is unnecessary for VitalCells to offer placenta banking services.
In theory, indefinitely. Once cells are at -196°C the cells are metabolically inactive, and ‘suspended in time’ practically forever. Scientific cell-banking data over the last 70 years supports this method of long-term storage, and its ongoing viability.
