Umbilical cord blood a valuable source of cures

HUMAN tissue producing insulin has been created from cord blood stem cells obtained from umbilical cords of newborn children.

This particular type of tissue is destroyed in type one diabetes and its production from cord blood stem cells is a step closer to finding a cure for diabetes.

This transatlantic collaboration was headed on the European side by Irish researcher Professor Colin McGuckin, at the Newcastle centre for cord blood, working with a team from the Stark Diabetes Center, University of Texas.

More than 85 conditions can already be treated with cord blood stem cells. In Ireland, around 60,000 babies are born per year. Most of their umbilical cords are disposed of as “hospital waste”. |

If we are going to apply these amazing cells — nature’s repair kit for people who have suffered strokes, heart attacks, trauma injuries and conditions like MS and cancer, including eventually diabetes — we must equip our maternity hospitals to save umbilical cords. With proper equipment, we will have a life-saving resource.

Kathy Sinnott

MEP

Ballinabearna

Ballinhassig

Co Cork