It is essential to separate fact from fiction and make informed decisions about what genuinely holds value for your family. Parents are bombarded with various options and services when it comes to preserving precious resources, such as stem cells at the birth of their baby, including storing the placental tissue.
What is the placenta?
The placenta is an organ that develops during pregnancy and serves as a vital link between the baby and the mother. It attaches to the uterine wall and is connected to the baby through the umbilical cord. This organ provides the fetus with oxygen, essential nutrients, and growth hormones while removing waste products and carbon dioxide. Additionally, it transfers valuable antibodies from the mother to the baby, strengthening the infant's immunity after birth.
Should you store placental tissue?
While it's true that placenta tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), this isn't exclusive to placental tissue. Cord tissue is also rich in MSCs, and, importantly, the stem cells derived from cord tissue are identical to those found in the placental tissue.
Banking placenta tissue incurs an extra cost, often sold as an add-on service to cord blood and cord tissue banking. Considering that mesenchymal stem cells can be found abundantly in the cord tissue, the added cost for placental tissue becomes less justifiable.
In essence, families choosing to bank their baby's cord tissue stem cells are already securing a valuable source of MSCs. Opting for placental tissue banking essentially means paying for more of the same, offering no additional benefit. It's crucial for parents to make informed choices and consider whether the additional expense of placental tissue banking is genuinely worthwhile.
At Next Biosciences we do not offer placental tissue storage services as it does not provide any additional benefits to our clients. We remain committed to ensuring that our services are not only comprehensive but also ethically sound, always prioritising the best interests of our valued customers.
Next Biosciences already utilises the benefits from parts of the placenta in the production of its biological products derived from the amniotic membrane for use in ophthalmology, wound care, and dental procedures, readily available for use.
For more information on stem cell banking, click here.
References
- Paradise, D. (2023) Storing Placental Tissue: What You Need to Know. Available at: cryo-cell.com. Accessed: 14 November 2023.