A woman’s curse? In the West, through much of its history, women were considered ritually unclean during the monthly flow of blood. This period put a woman into a state of ritual defilement. Theologians believed that this “unclean creature” could not be entrusted with the care of God’s sacred rituals. Similar taboos existed among many cultures, including the Greeks and Romans. Women were not only considered to be “impure” but in danger of communicating this impurity to others. Anyone who touches a woman or her belongings becomes unclean and must clean themselves. These traditions were onerous and complicated.

Now for the blessings of the curse! The same blood is now claimed by researchers as life-saving. It is found to contain stem cells that are in the early stages of development, thus having the potential to turn into different types of cells.

American and Japanese researchers say that this blood contains adult stem cells and can be the “super repair kit” for the body. These stem cells can be used to develop nine different types of cells for growing new cartilage, bone, fat, skin, brain cells, lung, nerve, muscle and even the heart.

A master stem cell is the zygote (embryo) that is the result of a fertilized egg. It is the beginning of all human life. With the growth of the embryo, this master cell multiplies into millions of cells, including stem cells. Throughout gestation, different types of cells are created, skin, nerve, bone, muscle and others. After birth and throughout the life, regenerating stem cells are produced by the body.

Menstrual stem cells are believed to be similar to those from the embryos and bone marrow, but are said to be better compatible and easy to replicate.

Menstruation is nothing but the shedding of the uterine lining (endometrium) and the blood that oozes out of the blood vessels that are torn when the uterine lining is shed. Stem cell researchers say this uterine lining that is shed contains stem cells.

Scientists are excited and consider this an wonderful breakthrough in stem cell therapy, as stem cells are known to be a wonder cure for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, spinal cord damage and several other diseases.

Several lab tests were done on menstrual stem cells and scientists created all types of cells from them and the most amazing find was that it took only five days to create new heart cells.

Researchers say that these stem cells should be banked for future use in saving lives and it is a simple process too. The procedure is similar to giving a urine sample. The only effort that needs to be put in is to expand the blood before storing, unlike the umbilical cord stem cells that are stored immediately after extraction.

Stem cell research holds great promise because stem cells are cells that have not yet divided into specialized somatic cells – such as liver cells, skin cells, nerve cells and muscle cells – they can be used to develop various treatments. Stem cell research has the potential to repair any tissue in the body; it has the potential to cure anything from a simple skin cut to cancer.

Stem cell therapy has come under a lot of scrutiny and has become a controversial issue because of scientists’ belief that the most useful stem cells come from embryos. This controversy has reached new proportions when researchers in Virginia have become the first to create human embryos for the purpose of harvesting stem cells that can be used in scientific investigations. Federal funding for such research is being questioned on the grounds of morality and legality.

Researchers feel that actual treatments are a long way off and one of the reasons is federal funding. In spite of the fact that there are many private laboratories that have been engaged in stem cell research without expecting any assistance from the government, the lack of federal support retards the progress of American stem cell research.

Many supporters of stem cell research feel that promising research programs, including adult and amniotic fluid stem cell research and other types of scientific studies that do not involve human embryos should be funded. They feel that this needs to be done in an attempt to relieve human suffering and we are sure millions of sufferers from around the world feel this way too.

“Funiculus umbilicalis” in spite of sounding like a magic spell from a Harry Potter movie; is the Latin name for the narrow cord of tissue, commonly known as the umbilical cord that connects the embryo to the placenta. It brings nutrient-rich oxygenated blood from the placenta to the embryo or fetus and returns the deoxygenated, nutrient-depleted blood to the placenta.

According to researchers, this fetal life-support system has now been found to have other uses too. Stem cells from the umbilical cord are said to be helpful in the treatment of several diseases, such as hepatic diseases, sickle cell disease, leukemia, thallasemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and others. When healthy stem cells are transplanted into an ill child, these cells can grow new bone marrow cells and replace the destroyed ones.

Cord blood is the blood that is left in the umbilical cord after birth. This blood contains stem cells, which is what a human body is made of. These cells have the ability to develop into hundreds of different types of cells in the human body, like blood cells, bone marrow cells and brain cells. They are found at every stage, when developing from an embryo into an adult.

Stem cell research was always believed to hold awesome potential. Scientists believe that stem cells may be used to repair or even replace damaged cells and this has a huge potential of changing the treatment for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s etc.

Researchers from the Universities of Leon and Granada have revealed that the human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) have been studied to have the capacity to treat hepatic diseases, such as hepatitis. They also say these cells can prove to be an effective alternative to bone marrow.

Currently, the treatment for hepatic failure is liver transplant; however, this is an issue because of lack of enough donors. There is also no specific treatment for fibrosis that is caused by hepatic diseases and this research can help many people suffering from this condition.

Liver fibrosis is a condition that results from accumulation of tough, fibrous scar tissue in the liver. This is caused by excess alcohol consumption, trauma, toxins and other factors. The body naturally forms scar tissue in case of injury, but fibrosis is this healing process gone awry. As of now, patients are only treated for any associated complications arising from fibrosis and there is no treatment for fibrosis.

The HUCBCs were tested for their regenerative potential by injecting them into the hepatic portal vein of hepatitis positive rats and it was found that this transplant caused an improvement in the hepatic functioning as well as repaired the existing damage. This is being considered as a great advance in regenerative hepatic medicine.

Researchers also say that bone marrow can be restored with cord blood. The best part is that children can benefit from umbilical cord blood from a sibling, and it works even if the match is only partial, unlike in bone marrow transplants where the recipient and donor match has to be exact. When transplanting bone marrow, it can be successful only when all six antigens match and cord blood transplants have been seen to be successful even when only four of the six antigens matched.

Dr. Paul Martin of the pediatric bone marrow and cord blood transplant program at Duke’s, revealed that three out of four siblings will be at least a 3/6 or half match for transplantation. He conducted a study on four children between the ages 2 ½ and 6 ½ years, all of them having inherited blood diseases that lead to death in childhood. All these children received “haplo-identical,” or half-matched sibling umbilical cord blood transplants to replace their bone marrow. Even those that had half-match transplants had no serious graft and host diseases. These transplants have been successful in three of the four patients, who are alive and doing well 12 to 29 months after the transplants.

He also said that the next step is to investigate the use of haplo-identical cord blood transplants in cancer patients.

Looking at all the potential the umbilical cord blood holds, it may be time to start banking umbilical cord blood. This means saving and storing the blood for future use. This blood can be used for stem cell transplants to grow new bone marrow as well as other tissues.

Doctors say that this cord blood can be useful in the future for a sibling, with an illness that can be treated with a stem cell transplant or it can be donated to a public bank to help someone else in need. Giving birth is a wonder and babies bring with them the gift of life itself.