What would you do for your child?

14/01/2015

If your child needed stem cell therapy or treatment, how would you find a match? And what are the implications of having stem cells from a donor?

Since 2006 BioEden has offered a solution to stem cell therapy needs, by offering affordable stem cell banking of a child’s own cells, for a lifetime of use. BioEden is proud to be an autologous bank, using a unique patented process to harvest stem cells from naturally shed baby teeth. Autologous simply means cells derived from you. Your child’s own cells which are a perfect match – 100% – every time.

But if your child’s own cells were not stored, could you turn to a stem cell donor?

The short answer is yes. However, the wait for a match, and the consequences may not be something you have considered.

Here BioEden presents the pro’s and con’s of public stem cell banks

There will always be a need for a shared or public service, when access or the availability of your own cells is not an option. The donor of the cells could be a complete stranger or family member, where even with the latter there may be no perfect match. Note that autologous stem cell therapy may not always be beneficial for some genetic conditions. A medical professional will always advise re suitability.

Getting stem cells from a donor

When a stem cell transplant is received the body recognises the cells as ‘foreign’ and will react against it. This reaction is known as GvHD (Graft V Host Disease) and can have very serious effects on the patient. The body’s immune system has special white blood T-cells whose function is to fight bacteria and disease. These T-cells will destroy any foreign cells that are not recognised as your own. Before a stem cell donor transplant takes place, tests are done to see how closely the stem cells match the patient’s own. With stem cells from bone marrow transplants, the closest match is chosen although there will still be differences between the donor and the patient.
(Source: Anthony Nolan Trust 2015)

What are the chances of success from a public stem cell bank?

You have a 50% chance of symptoms which could affect the quality of life from a stem cell donor.  However these risks are minimalized the younger you are at the time of transplant. Any negative side effects usually occur within the first 100 days*.  With the difficulties which can follow a donor transplant, it is clear why the banking of one’s own cells is on the increase, with thousands of parents taking the decision to bank their children’s own cells at the earliest opportunity.

BioEden says that since stem cells were discovered in teeth in 2001, this non-invasive natural process is now used in over 40 countries worldwide.

For more information on how to bank your families own cells, please click here

*(Source: Anthony Nolan Trust 2015)