What is Cryopreservation ?

Stem cells found in the cord blood are believed to be the most adaptable stem cells as they are at their youngest stage. Stem cells are biological cells that can multiply to generate numerous cells of the same type and also differentiate into other cell types. Stem cells available in the cord blood is known to possess the capability to cure an array of health disorders (as many as 80 are identified to date). The stem cells found in cord blood of a child can be stored and preserved in a medical facility termed as Cord blood banking.

A great care is taken to select and employ the most advanced methods and types of equipment at such publicly or privately owned medical facilities where stem cell preservation is done. Cryopreservation is one such advanced methods for storing and preserving the umbilical cord stem cells.

Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation can be described as the process of storing and preserving living cells, tissues, organs and any biological materials at an extremely low temperature so that their viability is kept intact. The temperature most commonly resorted to in this process is approximately around -321 °F or -196 °C in liquid nitrogen (N2).


Such a low temperature is used because it stops all possible biological functioning (biochemical reactions) causing DNA degradation and cell death. Cryopreservation method is popularly applied to ensure proper cooling, storing and preservation of hematopoietic stem cells, found in the umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood, and bone marrow.

It’s role in blood banking

If ever stem cells that are extracted from peripheral blood or bone marrow are damaged, one can still collect them from their sources. In the case of umbilical cord blood stem cells, it is naturally impossible. Birth is the one-time opportunity for collecting umbilical cord blood cells. This is why proper freezing (cryopreservation), storage and preservation of the same is absolutely necessary for ensuring proper future transplantation.
After a baby is born, its umbilical cord is clamped and the cord blood is collected within 10 minutes after birth. This collected cord blood is then transported to a well-certified and trusted cell processing centre for ensuring proper baby stem cell preservation. After this, the stem cells are extracted and cryopreserved.

In order to make sure that the stem cells survive the cryogenic process, a cryopreservant is added to the cord blood. Two popularly used cryoprotective agents are glycerol & dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Then it is slowly cooled to −90 °C and finally added to a liquid nitrogen tank that is supposed to keep the umbilical cord blood cell unit frozen at around −196 °C. The slow freezing process is considered necessary for keeping the cells alive all through the freezing process.

Cryopreserved blood stem cells extracted from the umbilical cords can help in addressing a diverse range of genetic and hematopoietic disorders. Living cells can survive over a decade if properly frozen so employing the cryopreservation method can help the situation. Not all medical facilities can be relied on though and only ones with proper arrangement and provisions can ensure proper cord blood banking

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