What is Cord Blood?

Cord blood is a rich source of hematopoietic stem cells, and the medical uses of these cells has been expanding at a rapid pace. Currently, these cells can be used to either treat or cure approximately 85 conditions, including blood disorders such as Sickle Cell & Thalassemia, neurological conditions such as Cerebral Palsy and blood cancers such as Leukaemia. The first successful cord blood transplant took place in 1988, and nowadays, 50,000 hematopoietic stem cell transplants take place every year around the globe!

There is no doubt that stem cell therapy is going to play a vital role in the future of medicine as more and more clinical applications are found; storing your baby’s umbilical cord blood will give them access to the benefits of this amazing medical resource in the future. The remarkable ability of these cells to stimulate the regeneration of other cells (and to transform into special types of cells) is helping scientists to regenerate tissue and even organs in a way that could revolutionise the treatment of various conditions such as Diabetes, MS, heart disease and even COVID-19.

The process of collecting your baby’s stem cells is quick, pain-free and non-invasive, and could one day save their life. Considering the many emerging research studies on possible cord blood (and cord tissue) stem cell use, the future of stem cell treatments is very bright, which is why more and more parents are opting to bank their baby’s cord blood stem cells at birth.

Smart Cells & World Cord Blood Day

To celebrate World Cord Blood Day, we wanted to share Smart Cells’ fundamental beliefs and achievements over the years with parents who are considering taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to collect their baby’s umbilical cord stem cells.

Smart Cells have built our reputation in the field of private stem cell banking on a solid foundation of quality, communication and experience.

We Believe in Communication

We see it as an important part of our role to offer reliable information that appeals to a variety of people, including parents-to-be and healthcare professionals in the UK and overseas. All our clients are individuals and we treat them that way – you’re never just a number in a spreadsheet to us. We want to provide our Smart Cells families with a service based on their specific requirements, whether that’s a response to a simple enquiry or complex scientifically backed information relating to stem cell therapeutics. Prospective clients and healthcare professionals alike can find out more about what the stem cells found in cord blood can mean for their family, how the process works, stem cell therapeutics and more at Smart Cells’ blog which has a wealth of information available for free.

Within our team at Smart Cells, we are very fortunate to have our Scientific Director, Dr Ann Smith. She brings many years of involvement in stem cell transplantation within the NHS and considerable academic and research experience. Parents, partners and healthcare professionals have the unique opportunity to direct questions to Dr Smith so that they can get the best information and highly personalised service.

Accurate and balanced information is key in the healthcare industry, so we are firm supporters of the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood as an amazing resource for information about cord blood and other stem cell banking, clinical options and innovations.

Quality is at our Core

Our commitment is to our clients and we never forget that the stem cells they entrust to us may be used clinically in the future, so it is vital that we strive to offer an exemplary service. Smart Cells has a well-qualified laboratory team all of whom have relevant Biomedical degrees. Our Scientific Director and dedicated team ensure that the scientific and regulatory aspects of our operations meet consistently high standards.

We choose to use globally respected techniques and technologies in our state of the art processing facility to process and store umbilical cord blood and tissue. Everything that we do is underpinned by unstinting quality assurance, integrity and transparency.

Experience and building trust

Smart Cells is the longest established private cord blood bank in the UK. We collected our first sample in February 2001 and, to date, we have banked cord blood for over 50,000 families. Our extensive global network is worldwide, with bases in Hong Kong and UAE, and we also have partners in South Africa, Pakistan, Italy, Lebanon and Albania.

Smart Cells have successfully released cord blood stem cell units for transplant for a number of different diseases. We are proud to be working and growing as a company in this important sector as stem cell therapeutics are not only established in modern medicine, but also hold much promise for cutting edge treatments in the future.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus stated “the only thing that is constant is change” and this is certainly true in the field of stem cell banking and therapeutics, so we aim to be adaptable and responsive but at the same time never to compromise on our fundamental belief in our core values and commitment to our clients throughout their stem cell banking journey and beyond.

If you would like to learn more about how you can store your baby’s stem cells, request a brochure here.