by Maria Gallagher
LifeNews.com
Staff Writer
February 10, 2005
Toronto,
Canada (LifeNews.com) -- Canadian researchers have found a new source
of stem cells: a part of a human umbilical cord which was previously
thought to have no value.
The discovery offers hope for improved success in bone marrow transplants and tissue repair.
The stem cells are located in the connective tissue surrounding the blood vessels in the umbilical cord. The cells can be removed and grown in a few weeks to offer an abundant supply of additional cells, according to John Davies, a professor of biomaterials at the University of Toronto.
For a while now, scientists have known that blood from the umbilical cord is a source of blood-forming stem cells. As a result, a growing number of parents have had the cells frozen and stored to protect their children against future diseases.
“This provides another source of cells which could be stored from the umbilical cord, which is otherwise just thrown away," Davies told the Canadian Press.
According to Davies, the stem cells could be used in transplanting bone marrow, helping to combat leukemia and other cancers.
The stem cells could also result in treatments for broken bones and torn ligaments.
"You can anticipate using these as a source of cells to help re-grow that bone ... or connective tissue in the knee ... which has been damaged in an accident," Davies told the Toronto Star.
The possibilities prompted Bill Stanford and his wife agreed to have their newborn son's blood stem cells stored as a protection against a possible future disease.
"We were too impressed by this source of stem cells not to take advantage of this biological insurance," Stanford told the Canadian Press.
Dr. Allen Eaves of the B.C. Cancer Institute is among those congratulating researchers for the latest stem cell discovery.
“The cord is normally discarded after birth and this is a non-controversial source of stem cells, and this makes it particularly attractive," Eaves told the Canadian Press.
A number of bioethicists say such discoveries indicate there's little need for embryonic stem cell research, which involves the destruction of living embryos. In addition to proving ethically troubling, such research has yielded no known cures.
The Canadian study has been published in the February issue of the journal “Stem Cells."
