Stem cell bank offers storage for therapeutic cloning
StemProtect is a UK stem cell bank that has announced they will offer a storage service to perverse stem cells for future therapeutic cloning.
Stem cells are the understudy in your body’s cellular theatre. When a blood cell, for example, can no longer go on, the undifferentiated stem cell will transform into the role of a blood cell.
Stem cells can become any cell in the human body, but have to be assigned a role, and termed as pluripotent. These stem cells are found at their most pluripotent in embryos and then umbilical cords and the placenta. Adult stem cells are less pluripotent, but through a process of induced pluripotency, adult stem cells can be reverted into their embryonic selves.
According to stemprotect.co.uk, their method of stem cells banking comes from taking cells from the umbilical cord blood and tissue after birth or later on from baby milk teeth. StemProtect have thus far stored over 125,000 samples and are typically held for 25 years.
Investment for the future?
The purpose of collecting and storing stem cells is for their potential application in stem cell therapy cloning in the future. Stem cells have the ability to replace damaged cells and treat disease.
The potential for cellular medical regeneration of tissue or even organs is vast. However, the technology still isn’t ready for mass application, hence depositing stem cells into a bank to wait for the science to catch up.
“The science behind stem cell cloning continues to come on in leaps and bounds – and for many people, the possibility of having a securely stored back-up of their own stem cells would be a welcome idea,” says spokesperson Mark Hall.
Stem cells extracted from umbilical cord blood and tissue costs around £2,000 and those obtain from teeth would set you back around £1,500.
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