Medical professionals are now using stem cells to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease which causes the body’s immune system to attack different parts of the patient’s central nervous system such as the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve.

Currently there is no cure for MS but stem cell therapy is being used to help improve patient  symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. Stem cell therapy is an experimental treatment that people can access through clinical trials.

You can find out more about these treatments here

A PhD student at Monash University in Melbourne has been awarded the 2021 European Society for Paediatric Research Young Investigator Start Up Grant of 10,000 Euro for research on cord blood stem cell treatment for newborns with brain injury.

Dr Lindsay Zhou is investigating the use of the stem cells as a treatment for preterm brain injury. This includes a world-first clinical trial of autologous cord blood-derived stem cells in extremely preterm infants.

The long-term goals of Dr Zhou’s work are to develop a potential cell therapy for the injured neonatal brain, and to reduce neuro-disability in survivors of extreme prematurity.

Read more about the project here

Jazmyne van Gosliga

I wanna chat about cord blood banking… It’s been super interesting the discourse around this topic in the last couple of days. I guess it’s like a lot of things with becoming a new parent or having another baby, you have to make the decision that is best for you and your family.

It’s interesting to negatively target ‘influencers’ because of an opinion or product that they have shared. I guess the beauty of Social Media is that it’s a jungle of opinions, but also a fantastic way for businesses to promote their products.

I am a Marketing Manager for a large hairdressing salon, and what works best for us to gain and retain our clientele is mainly through our social platforms. I also own a small skincare and accessories business, the same goes for that. I’m an Actress, and it has just become a part of the ‘job’. I am also an MUA and Hairdresser, and exactly the same there.

Most of my purchases in the last year are from other people sharing their experiences with them. Furniture, workout programs, cafes/restaurants/home delivery services, clothes, makeup, skincare, prams/cots/car seats/clothes/nappies, you name it. And as you would before investing in for example an expensive new skincare regimen, do your own research! 😊

If CordBank works for you, then go for it! Just like, if you would prefer to have an Obstetrician? Or a Midwife? Or a hospital birth? Epidural? Waterbirth? Homebirth? Breastfeed? Formula? Safely co-sleep? Use cry-it-out? Dummy? No dummy?

…Let’s stop feeling guilty for making decisions that may not be the same as someone else’s!

I love being about to chat about MY experience with CordBank. My brother was the first homebirth CordBank NZ baby in 2002, then I used the service for my daughter in 2019, and will use it again for my second daughter.

It’s a privilege to be able to spread the word and use this platform to help make parents aware that cord blood banking is AN option in NZ with CordBank.

Jazmyne van Gosliga

This week we received our CordBank kit – After sharing it on my story and receiving a few messages about it, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to share our experiences with CordBank.

Since being pregnant with Saachi, I soon realized that the option of CordBank isn’t something that all expectant parents know about!

For those who don’t know what it is, CordBank NZ is a company where you have the option to save your baby’s stem cells from their umbilical cord blood, and have them processed and stored until your child may need those precious stem cells. Cord blood stem cells are the most powerful stem cells. They’re the youngest, least damaged by the aging process and an exact match for your bubba. For our family, we have had personal experiences with people who have struggled to find stem cell donors, so it was a no brainer to have that option available for our girls – Whether they never use it, or at some point in their lives they may do (hopefully not!).

My parents also did this for my brother Aston in 2002, and he was the first home birth to have his cord blood stored in NZ through CordBank NZ. 17 years later we did this for Saachi, who was also a home birth and we will also do this for our next daughter, if everything goes to plan.

I believe the education towards the option of CordBank for your child is ever evolving. Often we have been given misinformation due to a lack in relevant education to the benefits of it and the impact it could have to your child later in life.

Jazmyne van Gosliga

38 weeks and we are feeling ready. I’m still working, but had my last client in the salon yesterday and starting to wind down which is really lovely. I’ve had a couple of people ask about what to prepare with planning to give birth at home so here is our list (condensed for what worked for us for Saachi’s home birth).

*   Our CordBank kit is ready to go with an area that our midwife can do the collection

*   Lots of towels and flannels
*   Tarpaulin
*   Jug for hot water
*   Bucket or container – For placenta
*   Rubbish bags
*   Laundry basket or access to a washing machine
*   Birthing pool if you wish (you can rent)
*   Tens Machine if you wish (you can rent)
*   Hot/Cold packs
*   Ambient lighting
*   Speaker for music
*   Atomizer with essential oils
*   Some written affirmations if you wish
*   Herbal teas / Coconut water
*   Snacks
*   A clamp, tie, muka, or other tools for tying the umbilical cord
*   Some warm clothes, wraps, nappies, or other items ready for baby
*   Comfortable underwear and clothing for yourself
*   Maternity pads or disposable undies or period undies (Pad-cicles are amazing, look them up)
*   Nourishing food for after
*   Support people sorted for help with Saachi
*   Books that I also recommend are: The First Forty Days, The Postnatal Depletion Cure, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth etc.

A home birth takes a little extra planning – But thanks to the team at CordBankNZ they have made that part of the process really easy by providing my midwife with everything needed for the collection.

If you are thinking about doing cord blood banking and your midwife hasn’t done a collection before, or you just want some guidance/advice, get in touch with the team and they will be more than happy to help you. They have been an absolute dream to work with!

Independent groups of scientists investigating telomeres and stem cells have reported what lies behind the immortality of stem cells – what a leading Australian researcher calls “the most unexpected result of my career”.

Telomeres are the protective caps at chromosome ends. In adult cells, telomeres shorten each time a cell divides and this contributes to ageing and cancer. Pluripotent stem cells, however, are specialised cells that exist in the earliest days of development. These pluripotent cells do not age and have the ability to turn into any type of adult cell.

The surprise finding, published today in Nature, shows that telomeres in pluripotent stem cells are protected very differently than telomeres in adult tissues.

This has major implications for research on ageing, human development, regenerative medicine, and cancer. Previously, researchers expected fundamental mechanisms that protected DNA would be the same in all tissues. This now appears to be incorrect.

Associate Professor Tony Cesare highlighted that the discovery was important for understanding stem cells, which are increasingly being used to develop treatments (referred to as regenerative medicine) for many diseases.

“We now realise that the rules for creating telomere loops are entirely different in pluripotent stem cells, suggesting other cellular rules might also be different.

This is tremendously exciting for molecular biology and opens up a whole new way of thinking about immortality in stem cells, and invites new research into cancer, aging, embryonic and adult development, and regenerative medicine.”

Read more here.

A U.S mother believes her son is alive today because of a world first umbilical stem cell transplant.

Little Bennett Harbison was diagnosed before he was born in 2018 with hypo plastic left heart syndrome – a condition his mother Jennifer had never heard of.

It means the left side of Bennett’s heart did not develop and he was facing multiple surgeries through his life before needing a heart transplant. 

But Dr Harold Burkhartt and his team from OU Children’s Hospital gathered some of Bennett’s umbilical blood at his birth, processed it and froze it until the stem cells were injected into the little boy’s heart when he was a few months old. 

Doctors hoped this would mean his heart would grow more cells and become stronger, which is exactly what happened.

You can see Bennett’s remarkable story here and read more about his case. 

Here’s a warning for the digital age – children learn more and remember better when writing by hand.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology has found the brains of children more active when writing compared with typing.

It’s been studied a few times and repeatedly found that handwriting gives the brains more “hooks” to hang memories. 

The same is true for young adults.

Read more 

The answer is indefinitely. Cord blood stem cells don’t have an expiry date and the chance of needing to use them increases with age.

According to Frances Verter,  the founder of the international independent site – Parents Guide to Cord Blood Banking it doesn’t make sense to invest in the up-front collection and processing fees and then throw out the investment.

“That would be like buying life insurance and then cancelling it because you have not died yet”

The science of cryobiology has demonstrated that cells which are cryogenically preserved remain viable for decades. Cord blood stem cells remain viable after being frozen 23+ years .

References:
Broxmeyer, H.E. Cell Stem Cell 2010; 6(1):21-24
Mazur, P. Science 1970; 168(3934):939-949
Nietfeld, J.J. et al. BBMT 2008; 14:316-322