cord blood stem cells

[rosech44]

I E-mailed Dr, Diaz about a month ago, asking him when he would be doing cord blood stem cells. I received his reply and will paste it here--I was alarmed by his answer, but having talked to Barbara, I now know that I was mistaken about the cord blood--we aren't getting cord blood stem cells, we are getting cells from the U Cord. so there is no rejection. Barbara advised me to post it here for all to see--Rose


Rose

I am working with a group of doctors trying to form a team to perform a technique and inject autologus ( own patients stem cells) into a specific tissue or organ because there is a chance to reject the cells if those cells are from Cord blood, but if the cells belongs to the patient that risk is eliminated.

Dr Diaz

 

[Jeannine]

Rose

Dr Diaz's reply to you is not surprising to me. Naturally, the chances of your body rejecting the cord blood cells is higher than when injecting your own. If your body rejects them they simply die off. There is no harm done other than they don't engraft. That's the reason why so many umbilical cord cells are injected so you stand a higher chance of some engrafting. You don't need as many if you're using your own.

Barb and I would have had our own stem cells if the treatment could have been given closer than Argentina. Neither of us thought we would hold up to travel that far.