Umbilical cord blood (often called cord blood) is the blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta after a foal is born. Cord blood is usually discarded along with the umbilical cord and placenta. Cord blood is a rich source of adult stem cells.
What are the advantages of adult stem cells harvested from cord blood?
Stem cells from cord blood offer some important advantages over those retrieved from bone marrow or adipose(fat) tissue:
Safe, easy collection:
Collecting stem cells from cord blood poses no risk because no procedure is performed on the mare or foal. Horses who donate bone marrow or fat tissue for stem cell collection must undergo a surgical procedure with anesthesia. They can experience postoperative pain, and have a small risk of serious complications (2).
Faster availability:
The Equstem banked cord blood cells are available almost immediately. This can be crucial for horses with severe soft tissue injuries that might require therapy as soon as possible in order to make a full recovery.
Fewer infections:
Because cord blood is being used, operations will not be performed on the horses. Cord blood is less likely to contain viruses that can pose a risk to the horse (2).
In addition some studies suggest that cord blood may have a greater ability to generate new red blood cells more efficiently than bone marrow (1, 2). This suggests that a smaller number of cord blood cells may be needed for a successful transplantation.
References 1. Moise, K.J. Umbilical Cord Stem Cells. Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 106, number 6, December 2005, pages 1393-1407. 2. Committee on Establishing a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Program. Cord Blood: Establishing a National Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank Program. Institute of Medicine, National Academies Press, 2005
