When a child is born, parents now have the option to store the stem cells found in the baby’s umbilical cord. Private banking of cord blood is a well-established practice in many countries around the world. Importantly, cord blood contains haematopoietic stem cells, however other stem cell types are limited in number. 

With our proprietary techniques for harvesting and storing Cord Lining Stem Cells, our cord blood bank partners are now able to also bank the cord lining membrane with its extremely high yields of both epithelial and mesenchymal stem cells. These patented and proprietary techniques will ensure that the licensed banked tissues and cells are optimized with maximum numbers and robustness at time of clinical therapy, a quality assurance which competitors lack.

Haematopoietic stem cells found in the cord blood are different from Epithelial and Mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord lining. They also have different applications.

The mesenchymal stem cells from the cord lining have now been to shown to support cord blood haematopoietic stem cell engraftment, strengthening the case for storing stem cells from both sources.

Research continues to reveal more uses for stem cells, and with it, the development of novel new therapies for many medical conditions. Check out our Newsroom for continuous updates on the latest in Cord Lining Stem Cell research.

The stem cells found in the cord blood are mainly Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs), which means that they can transform into the various blood cell types. 

The Cord Lining Membrane contains two types of stem cells: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and Epithelial stem cells (ESCs). 

Mesenchymal Stem Cells give rise to a variety of other cells that make up the structural framework of our organs, for example skin fibroblasts, ligament fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, tenocytes, cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, skeletal muscle cells, adipocytes, and neuronal cells. 

Epithelial stem cells give rise to cells that line the body as skin, or lining cells of hollow structures such as the intestines. Epithelial stem cells can be differentiated into skin keratinocytes, epithelial cells of the cornea and conjunctiva, as well as mucosal epithelial cells of the oesophagus, small and large intestines, airways and lungs, bladder and uterus. They can also be differentiated into liver cells.

Read more about stem cells here.

Our Advantage

CellResearch Corporation scientists discovered Umbilical Cord Lining Stem Cells more than a decade ago, and in this time, the proprietary techniques for processing cord lining tissue as well as the media formulations to optimise cell storage and growth have been continuously refined. 

The CellResearch Group of Companies thus has a strong advantage in the therapeutic stem cell arena. Not only do we hold strong patents in over 40 countries, we are also engaging in clinical trials to bring our innovative stem cell therapies to the market to benefit patients in need. 

The Process

When parents sign up for cord lining banking with one of our licensed partners, the umbilical cord will be collected immediately at the time of delivery. The bank will proceed to process and store the cord tissue using CellResearch Corporation’s proprietary protocols. 

A sample of the cord tissue will be processed by our technicians at CordLabs, in a process called biomarker and viability testing. During this process we will check that the tissue contains live stem cells, and identify the stem cell types using specific markers. This is to double check that the tissue has indeed been collected and stored using our recommended protocols.

A report is created and stored in GlobalCord. Parents will be provided with an account where they may log in and access their report at any time. Being registered with GlobalCord is a guarantee that the tissue has been optimally processed using our protocols, and may be used for potential therapies in the future. These therapies are also protected by our patents.

Visit GlobalCord here.