Stem cells are the basic building blocks of a human organism, from which all other types of cells originate. Stem cells have the remarkable potential to be used in medicine because they have the ability to develop into different types of cells such as brain cells, heart cells, skin cells or muscle cells. Think of stem cells as a unique repair system for the human body.

Stem cell research is one of the most important and exciting medical and scientific frontiers of our time. Almost every day, there is an announcement of a new discovery, a new experiment, or a new success in the use of these cells that brings us closer to finding treatments for many challenging health conditions and diseases.

There are many types of stem cells. During pregnancy, stem cells can be collected from amniotic fluid or cord blood. It’s helpful to understand the difference between the two.

• Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, which means they can only become blood type cells. These stem cells are used for bone marrow transplantations and to treat blood-related diseases.
• Amniotic fluid contains mesenchymal stem cells, which are multipotent and can develop into many different cell types, tissues and organs, including skin, muscle, neurons, cardiac tissue, kidney, liver, cartilage, bone, tendon, etc. These cells are potentially useful for a broad range of future uses and therapeutic applications.

	“Mesenchymal stem cells are poised to really be the next major success in cell therapy that could be used to treat tens of thousands of patients,” according to a leading stem cell investigator, CNN.com, Dec. 18, 2009

References

Schmidt D., et al., Cryopreserved amniotic fluid-derived cells: a lifelong autologous fetal stem cell source for heart valve tissue engineering. Journal of Heart Valve Disease, 2008, 17(4):446-455.; Sun H., et al., Osteogenic differentiation of human amniotic fluid-derived stem cells induced by bone morphogenetic protein-7 and enhanced by nanofibrous scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2010, 31(6):1133-1139.; Perin L., et al., Characterization of human amniotic fluid stem cells and their pluripotential capability. Methods Cellular Biology, 2008, 86:85-99.; Kaviani A., et al., The amniotic fluid as a source of cells for fetal tissue engineering. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2001, 36(11):1662-1665.; Fuchs J.R., et al., Diaphragmatic reconstruction with autologous tendon engineered from mesenchymal amniocytes. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2004, 39(6):834-838.; Kunisaki S.M., et al., Fetal tracheal reconstruction with cartilaginous grafts engineered from mesenchymal amniocytes. . Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 2006, 41(4):675-682.; Zhang P., et al., Endothelial differentiation of amniotic fluid-derived stem cells: synergism of biochemical and shear force stimuli. Stem Cells and Development, 2009, 18(9):1299-1308.; Perin L., et al., Renal differentiation of amniotic fluid stem cells. Cell Proliferation, 2007 40(6):936-948.; Prusa A.R., et al., Neurogenic cells in human amniotic fluid. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2004, 191(1):309-314.

Disclaimer:

Only your healthcare provider can suggest whether you should perform the amniocentesis procedure for prenatal diagnosis during your pregnancy. Although there is no guarantee that the FDA will approve any potential future medical applications and banking of amniotic fluid does not guarantee that these cells will be applicable to a particular medical condition, many clinical trials are on-going worldwide that may result in human therapies. Preserving amniotic fluid stem cells offers great hope for the future.