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James Debono
Sylvana and Travis Brannon are the first Maltese parents to store stem cells of their newborn in a special kind of bank which offers an insurance against genetic and other diseases.
On Wednesday Sylvana Brannon gave birth to their second child and they collected and stored the blood of his umbilical cord once again.
“The difference, this time, is that my husband did the extraction of the blood, because the procedure is so straightforward and does not interfere with the birth at all. My husband feels that performing this procedure is a more significant birth ritual than the traditional one of cutting the umbilical cord.”
Stem cells are able to repair damaged tissue and treat disease or injury, by migrating to the damaged area of the body and begin repairing the tissue.
When their first child Eva was born, Travis and Sylvana Brannon took the decision to store stem cells from their baby’s umbilical cord blood instead of throwing it away.
“It seemed obvious that we should give this precious, one-time gift to our child,” Sylvana Brannon said.
“Before Eva was born we received a collection kit and information package which we gave to our midwife and doctor. We packed the collection kit with the hospital bag. Immediately after Eva was born, the midwife collected the cord’s blood into a bag, whilst I breastfed my daughter, all under two minutes.”
MaltaToday is informed that Smart Cells International, a British company which is expanding its operations world-wide, has set up offices in Malta and is now offering kits to collect stem cells from the umbilical cord following birth and store them in the company’s lab for 25 years.
Blood from the placenta and umbilical cord that are left over after birth is only one source of stem cells. Another more controversial source of stem cells is frozen embryos.
The Church condemns the use of stem cells from this source but favours alternatives like the use of stem cells from the umbilical cord of newborns.
“There are controversies regarding the use of embryonic stem cells in treatment, but our company is promoting the use of umbilical cord cells only,” Shamshad Ahmed, chief executive officer of Smart Cells International Ltd, told MaltaToday.
Since 1988 these cord blood stem cells have been used to treat Gunther’s disease, Hunter syndrome, Hurler syndrome, acute lymphocytic leukaemia and many more problems occurring mostly in children.
In November 2004, researchers in South Korea announced they had successfully used cord blood stem cell treatments to enable a paralysed woman to walk with the aid of a walker.
This was achieved by isolating the stem cells from the umbilical cord blood and injecting the cells into the damaged part of the woman’s spinal cord
Stem-cells are collected by removing the umbilical cord, cleansing it and withdrawing blood from the umbilical vein. This blood is then immediately analysed for infectious agents and the tissue-type is determined. The cord blood is processed and depleted of red blood cells before being stored in liquid nitrogen for later use.
Despite the possibilities offered by these alternatives, a number of scientists abroad favour the use of embryonic stem cells because of their ability to form any cell in the body, giving them a powerful tool to study diseases, and perhaps find cures.
Embryonic stem cells are typically obtained from frozen human embryos, donated by women who have been through fertility treatments and no longer need them.
But these embryos, which are virtually formless balls of several hundred cells, are destroyed in the process, prompting charges that the scientists are taking human lives.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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