Cord Blood may help repair children’s heart defects, according to the American Heart Association and Cord Blood Registry.
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood may provide the raw material to repair the hearts of thousands of babies born each year with defective heart valves. Cardiologists from the University Hospital of Munich report they are about five years away from transplanting new heart valves into children with heart defects, made from the children’s own cord blood.
Replacement heart valves made from the child’s own cord blood stem cells would theoretically grow with the child and change shape as needed, significantly reducing the number of surgeries necessary for these patients.
In this study, the cord blood stem cells were seeded onto biodegradable heart valve scaffolds and grown in the laboratory. The cells formed a tissue layer around the scaffolding and further tests showed the engineered cells formed viable heart tissue. When their ability to handle blood flow and pressure were tested, the valves created from cord blood stem cells showed capabilities similar to natural heart valves. Similar results from a pre-clinical study showed cord blood endothelial stem cells demonstrated excellent growth potential for tissue-engineered vascular grafts that could replace human heart defects.
This research, along with pre-clinical findings, offer a compelling reason why parents expecting a child diagnosed with a congenital defect should consider preserving their child’s cord blood, since it may offer a treatment option in the future.
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