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Cord Blood vs Stem Cells: The Truth
79 Plays1 month ago
In this episode, Whitney talks with Korbet Annis, a stem cell expert, to explain the key differences between cord blood banking and newborn stem cell banking. From how each is used to the misconceptions families often hear, Korbet breaks down the science in a clear, approachable way. This episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to make informed decisions before birth.
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Transcript
Introduction to Cord Blood and Stem Cells
00:00:00
Speaker
There's a lot of information that people call and say, i don't even know where to start. I'm so confused. If you're a hopeful parent, chances are you've heard about cord blood and stem cells, but no one has actually explained what that means. You've probably been handed a lot of information.
00:00:15
Speaker
pamphlets, recommendations, opinions. And while it's usually framed as something you should do for your baby, very few people actually explain what these options are, what they're used for, or whether or not they even make sense for your family.
Clarifying Cord Blood vs. Newborn Stem Cell Banking
00:00:30
Speaker
I'm joined by Corbett, a stem cell educator who helps families understand in plain language, the real difference between cord blood banking and newborn stem cell banking. What's commonly misunderstood and how to evaluate these options without fear, guilt, or pressure.
00:00:48
Speaker
Core blood stem cells are meant to replace something. Stem cells are what we call mesenchymal stem cells, and they're mainly found in the lining of the umbilical cord tissue. And those type of stem cells are called connective tissue stem cells.
00:01:01
Speaker
They don't replace anything. They just help your body heal itself. In this conversation, you'll learn what these options are really used for, when they matter, and how to decide what, if anything, is right for your family.
00:01:16
Speaker
If you want clarity instead of confusion before taking your next step, this conversation is for you. Enjoy!
00:01:26
Speaker
Who knew it could take more than two people to have a baby? I'm Whitney Hall, a two-time surrogate, now part of the team at Egg Donor & Surrogate Solutions. And I've seen how life-changing this process can be when you feel informed, supported, and confident about your next step.
00:01:45
Speaker
Each week on Create a Happy Family, you'll hear real stories and expert insights from hopeful parents, surrogates, egg donors, and professionals, all to help you understand what it really takes to create a family in this way.
00:02:00
Speaker
Because at the heart of it all, we're creating happy families, one relationship at a time.
Uses of Cord Blood and Stem Cells
00:02:10
Speaker
Okay, so Corbett, just right off the bat, I mean, many people have heard of cord blood baking, but have not ever heard of newborn stem cell baking.
00:02:25
Speaker
In the most basic of language, can you kind of just explain what even is it? Absolutely. And there is a lot... of different information out there. There's a lot of information that people call and say, I don't even know where to start. I'm looking this up and one thing's saying core blood, something's saying core tissue. Now you have stem cells in the mix. I'm so confused. i but Please help me out. yeah So I get this every single day and it's,
00:02:56
Speaker
I could talk to you for weeks about this and it is so exciting, but I'm going to try to give you a very easy explanation in about 30 seconds. Perfect. a high level of what's the difference.
00:03:12
Speaker
So cord blood baking has been around for about 30 years, maybe a little over 30 years. And it, cord blood is primarily for a donor's use. So cord blood is a type of stem cell that is a hematopoietic stem cell or an HSC, if they they like to call it. And it is a blood and immune system stem cell.
00:03:34
Speaker
So it treats blood and immune system disorders. Think of cancers, leukemias, lymphomas.
Differences Between Cord Blood and Mesenchymal Stem Cells
00:03:40
Speaker
um ah There's about 86 different FDA approved blood cancer and disorders that you could use core blood for. Think of But you hear of bone marrow transplants. I'm having a bone marrow transplant. Is it this exact same thing? You just getting the resource from the and the leftover blood from the umbilical cord.
00:04:01
Speaker
and it's used to treat cancers. So someone gets a cancer, they're actually not gonna use their own core blood for that cancer because if a child gets a cancer, they already had cancer in their DNA to begin with, most likely. So they are going to use a donor's core blood or a donor's bone marrow stem cells.
00:04:22
Speaker
They're going to undergo chemotherapy, radiation, ablate the body, take out all the good cells, all the bad cells. There's nothing left. Then they're going to get an infusion of the healthy donor cells. Those cells travel to bone marrow, they engraft, and they build a brand new blood and immune system for that person. So core blood stem cells are meant to replace something, and which is a blood and immune system for a donor.
00:04:46
Speaker
But when you're talking stem cells, it's a little bit different. Stem cells are what we call mesenchymal stem cells, and they're mainly found in the lining of the umbilical cord tissue.
00:04:58
Speaker
And those are actually used for personal reasons. And those type of stem cells are called connective tissue stem cells. They don't replace anything. They just help your body heal itself.
00:05:11
Speaker
So they are your bone, ah ah bone, tissue, fat, cartilage, stem cells. So they built the skeletal system of the human body, the vascular system. And they are used in an area of medicine called regenerative medicine for personal use. And we can you can get them through an infusion. You can get them through a direct injection to maybe like a hurt knee or a back or a shoulder. But they can do several different things.
00:05:45
Speaker
They can reduce inflammation in the body. They can help reset the immune system.
Misconceptions and Realities of Cord Blood
00:05:50
Speaker
And then they can actually heal a you know a bone or cartilage in a direct and a direct area.
00:05:57
Speaker
Core blood and stem cells are completely two different types of things and that we use in in the body. Wow. Okay. yeah I think one of the things that I kept hearing you say was when you were talking about cord blood, you kept saying donor. And when you were talking about stem cell, you kept saying personal. Yes. I feel like at just with a very brief, you know, Google search, you see a lot of, when you say cord blood, you see a lot of your child will need this.
00:06:30
Speaker
But what I'm hearing you say is you're actually in fact not ever going to use yours.
00:06:38
Speaker
9.9 out of 10 times that is the correct statement. Okay. There are about three different FDA approved uses that you would use your own core blood for, very rare uses, ah but for the most part, you are going to be using that core blood for transplant reasons for a donor, yes. And I think that's where a lot of people get...
00:07:02
Speaker
into the weeds because they don't quite understand that. And that's not quite explained from the core blood companies. It's always your baby's 100% matched to this and you can use it for cancers or those types of things, but what they don't go on, and it it is used for cancers and your baby is 100% matched. That is completely true. yeah that's not the entire, that's not the full story of what core blood is and what it's used for. um And I think that, you know,
00:07:31
Speaker
There needs to probably be a lot of re-education, not even to expecting parents, but to um agencies that work with expecting parents, OBGYNs, doula groups, surrogate agencies, midwives. this is ah This is something that a lot of expecting parents ask about, but you know you guys probably do your own research on Google as well. So you're kind of left in the dark, probably just as much as expecting parents.
00:07:56
Speaker
I would say so. Well, and I mean, it doesn't, that explanation, you know, isn't cute on a pamphlet. Like, I mean, I remember going to the the OB b and you're kind of handed a ton of paper and you're like, okay, here's an option. If this is something you're interested in you know, here's who you can talk to. you And kind of that was the end of it. Right.
00:08:14
Speaker
But i I do, I feel like i I remember almost, you know, it was like you had these two choices when
Statistics and Education on Cord Blood Use
00:08:20
Speaker
it came to cord blood. It was like it can it can all go in one bank or it can be like a personal thing. And, you know, there was just this whole idea of exactly like you said, you know, oh, your baby is 100% matched. And it sounds like it was just a... i I don't want say just, but there's definitely just a lot of misconceptions that can take place in that situation. Yeah, I think there just needs to be a little bit more fine print, maybe underneath that your baby's 100% match. Yeah. um You know, and it's not it's not a bad thing to do. Sure. You know, if you're going to have two kids and maybe you have cancer that runs in the family and you have two kids,
00:08:58
Speaker
You know, if they're a match, you know, baby child and what number one could use child number two stem cells if they're a match. There's about a 25% chance that they're not gonna be a match.
00:09:09
Speaker
So how that works is on the matching side, 50% of the time, for a full blood sibling, 50% of the time you're going to be a 50% match, which is good enough to use for a stem cell transplant for core blood. And 25% of the time you're going be 100% match to your sibling. And then 25% of the time you won't be a match at all. So there's still a 25% chance that you would not be able to use that blood for for a sibling.
Limitations and Potentials of Stem Cell Storage
00:09:37
Speaker
But Whitney, I will tell you, and
00:09:40
Speaker
Those companies have been around for between 30 and 35 years. And I would say on total, there's probably been about a million and a half families, give or take, that have stored their core blood in one of these core blood banks wow in the U.S. s and for transplant medicine purposes,
00:10:02
Speaker
Don't quote me on the exact number, but I'm going to say 100% less than 500 have been used in over 30 years. Oh, wow. Yeah. And all the blank banks combined.
00:10:15
Speaker
my God. Because there's so many limitations. And let's talk about something else. Once that child gets to a certain weight, there's not enough cord blood for a stem cell transplant.
00:10:30
Speaker
So another thing and that is also out there is, oh, well, your mom and dad are always a 50% match to child.
00:10:41
Speaker
So if you got a cancer, you would be able to use your child's stored core blood in a private core blood bank. But what is not talked about is there's what you you weigh too much. There's not enough stem cells, total nucleated stem cells left in that core blood sample for an adult to use.
00:11:00
Speaker
So really, once the child gets to a certain weight point, there's really not any use for that core blood in transplant purposes. So there's just a lot of limitations that come along. And you can't grow those stem cells out. You can't multiply them. And we can kind of talk about that and sometime in this podcast about multiplying stem cells. But you can't multiply core blood stem cells. So you really have a very small window of of being able to use those stem cells if you choose to store them in a private core blood bank.
00:11:30
Speaker
wow Super eye-opening, huh? It really is. it really is. So, okay. So that, I mean, and again, you've kind of, you've already kind of talked to us about how really you end up using someone else's and, you know, just as far as the cord blood stem cells go.
00:11:49
Speaker
When you were talking about the newborn stem cells, You said personal use. So can you talk a little bit more about that? And I would love for you to to go into what you mean by multiplying them.
00:12:08
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. This is where it gets super exciting. Yeah. So... In order to use a mesenchymal stem cell, well, let's back up for a second. In that umbilical cord tissue, there are, I would say roughly about 2 million mesenchymal stem cells left over in the lining of that umbilical cord tissue.
00:12:28
Speaker
There are a little bit left in the core blood of these mesenchymal stem cells. I would say about 250,000, give or take, but mainly it's in the lining of the umbilical cord tissue and what we call the Wharton's jelly.
00:12:42
Speaker
And Those must be extracted from the umbilical cord. if you we have If there's blood that that comes in, we can use the blood, but the umbilical cord tissue is the is required. Those stem cells must be extracted.
00:12:57
Speaker
However, if you just stop at that, maybe let's say you get 2 million stem cells and you freeze it, that's not enough for one single stem cell
Therapeutic Applications of Stem Cells
00:13:05
Speaker
therapy. Oh, wow. So those must be put in an environment where they naturally self-replicate.
00:13:12
Speaker
And if that doesn't happen, there's full of almost 100% chance that you're not going to be using those stem cells for anything because there's that's just not enough for one single treatment. I can go into the typical use of how many stem cells people use for personal therapy. So it's very important that these stem cells are extracted before they get they go to the cryo freezer. and they get multiplied before they go to the cryo freezer because sometimes these stem cells stay dormant.
00:13:43
Speaker
We put them in an environment where they naturally self-replicate. They are an organism. They grow. they can multiply. and how they do that is adhere to plastic. And they like to be in a very clean, a very specific environment to do that.
00:13:58
Speaker
And they can do that without being having any kind of manipulation. they they You could put them in in a special environment and they literally start to adhere to plastic and they start growing.
00:14:08
Speaker
It's almost like a like a germ. It just keeps multiplying. Yes. It is really kind of freaky, but it's science and it's pretty cool and that's what they so But sometimes they don't do anything. Sometimes they just don't either. They don't like the environment or maybe there's some bacteria that was on the umbilical cord that came in for whatever reason. Sometimes they they stay dormant.
00:14:33
Speaker
And you want to know that up front because like I work at at vital cells. We give our clients, we refund their money back if that happens. because there's no reason for them to pay for this initial processing, pay for years of storage when they're never going to be able to use it. So it's super important that these families know up front what's happening.
00:14:52
Speaker
So what happens is during that initial processing, we grow out what we call a working cell bank. And that working cell bank, it could be anywhere from 40 million to 60, 70, 80 million.
00:15:06
Speaker
And we store in vials of 10 million. So every vial that we put in our cryo chambers has 10 million live viable. We have tested the contamination. We've tested the sterility and viability of those stem cells, and they go in a cryo chamber waiting for You know, for someone to order them. But we make a working cell bank for a reason.
00:15:27
Speaker
we If we get a a a working cell bank from the beginning, that family can actually order stem cells on demand throughout the entire lifetime of that child to be used for...
00:15:39
Speaker
multiple, multiple, and multiple times. So what we would do is pull a vial from that working cell bank, let's say it's a year later, five years later, even 50 years later, we can pull a vial from that working cell bank and regrow from that vial to whatever the treating physician needs for, you know, maybe it's 30 million or 40 million, whatever the number is, and then we can ship those stem cells out to a treating physician that's gonna be infusing those back into that child.
00:16:06
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. So I call it the gift that keeps on giving. Yeah. So ah can you talk a little bit more about what are those current medical applications for the stem cells that you see a lot of people using?
00:16:23
Speaker
Absolutely. So when we talk about personal use of stem cells, we're talking about personalized medicine. And what I like to explain is When you're using a product, let's say for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, typically you have a one or two different molecules. You'll have a company that makes one molecule. You'll have another pharmaceutical cook company that makes maybe a slightly different molecule. But those one or two molecules are going into thousands of people that have
00:16:59
Speaker
100% DNA difference in every single different pathology, different different DNA. So you're wanting those medications to work the same way on every single person that uses those. And that's just not reality. So that's why you get people that have side effects with one medication. Oh, but my neighbor's doing fantastic on her. My best friend's doing fantastic on this pharmaceutical. That's because their pathology works with that certain molecule. right The problem is we don't know what what you need for your body, right? Unless you're going to be doing some DNA testing so that DNA testing can tell you what you need. But the cool thing about stem cells is it's one molecule, it's your pathology, it's your biology. So it's going in and working with your body to to to better your system, to better your your your system. and so
00:17:56
Speaker
When we talk about stem cell therapy, there are different things that you can use this for. So earlier I mentioned that these stem cells can reduce inflammation, they can work on the the immune system. So if you're doing an IV infusion of these stem cells, what they do is they go in and they go to the heart and lungs first. They go bounce back and forth your heart and lung.
00:18:20
Speaker
I don't know why, that's just what they do. And then they go out systemically into your body. So when they do that, it's taking inflammation out of your body, your entire body.
00:18:31
Speaker
The only thing that can actually do that other than stem cells that I know of, I'm not a medical doctor, um are steroid injections. So, you know, you hear about people going in, on my knee hurts, whatever. Oh, I got a steroid injection. Or you go to the doctor and you have some kind of virus. Well, they want to give you a steroid shot or steroid, um you know, pills to take the...
00:18:54
Speaker
What it's doing is it's taking the inflammation out of your body um so your body can actually go in and try to heal itself. Well, stem cells do that on a natural level on an entire body level. So they go in and they can take inflammation out of your body so that your body can start healing itself.
00:19:11
Speaker
That's one thing that they do. The second thing that they do is help modulate the immune system. So think of and autoimmune conditions. So the autoimmune conditions, your immune system is going crazy.
00:19:23
Speaker
We call it a cytokine storm. it's just It's going like crazy. Well, we need something to kind of bring that back down to a normal level. And that's what stem cells can do. They can help your immune system you know get back to where it's it's properly functioning. This is not a one-time infusion.
00:19:40
Speaker
I like to tell people that, hey, think of this for a while as your medication. as It's a natural medication. It's your pathology that's helping your body heal itself without having to take long-term pharmaceuticals. So there could be that it could be that you're taking an infusion of your own stem cells every three months, every six months, maybe once a year, depending on you know the treating physician on how he practices stem cells um and how your body's responding to those. Right.
00:20:09
Speaker
idea or the goal is to every time you get a stem cell infusion is you make strides. You might not be 100% maybe cured of that condition, but every time you take you you use them, something else happens that's bettering that that condition. The second thing that they do, or the third thing that they can do is they can travel to the site of damage through cell-to-cell signaling.
00:20:33
Speaker
okay So once they get infused, where there may think about a neurologic condition. Let's talk about cerebral palsy or a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury. There are cells or neurons in your brain that are firing off saying something is wrong.
00:20:50
Speaker
It's, we're not working properly. Well, those stem cells that you infuse can, can sense that. They're very smart. They think about it. They just built a human body. So they are literally,
00:21:01
Speaker
One of the smartest things you can you can do for your body is using a stem cell. So they go in, they travel, they reduce the inflammation, they help the immune system, but then once that happens, they can travel to the site of injury and they can slow the production of bad steel cells down. They can speed the production of good cells up. And they're just they're there to to help your body, and to be you know to try to get to the root cause of what's causing that condition.
00:21:29
Speaker
And then the third thing i want to mention is a direct injection into maybe let's talk about an ACL tear, MCL tear, or, you know, something, some, something that you're having for an orthopedic condition or sports related injury.
00:21:43
Speaker
So you can do the infusion of the stem cells, but you can actually do a injection into the hurt area and those stem cells stay local in that area and they can help rebuild new bone and cartilage in that area. And the idea is to have less surgeries because of that, or maybe in conjunction with the surgery or no surgery at all.
Personalized Medicine and Stem Cells
00:22:05
Speaker
um You know, a lot of people will do surgeries, have side effects, it or maybe it comes back and then they turn to stem cells afterwards. But what we would like to see are people using their own stem cells before they try the surgeries or long-term pharmaceuticals to see if we can heal it naturally and then move on from there.
00:22:25
Speaker
Got it. It takes more than love to create a family. It takes compassion, courage, and connection. At Egg Donor and Surrogate Solutions, we've spent more than 18 years helping hopeful parents, surrogates, and egg donors create happy families through egg donation and surrogacy, one relationship at a time.
00:22:44
Speaker
Our team has been there. Many of us are former surrogates, egg donors, and intended parents. So we truly understand this journey. If you're ready to take the next step, visit createahappyfamily.com to apply today.
00:22:58
Speaker
All right, let's get back to the show. So that's all so incredibly fascinating. Going back to, can you try and help me understand one of the things that you had said was for cord blood, you're using donor because, you know, you if say it's a childhood cancer, well, your DNA, that's not going to be great um because you're already predisposed. Yes. What makes the stem cell different in terms of you know Like you said, cerebral palsy or um you know just some of those other medical advances that they're trying to treat.
00:23:36
Speaker
Yep. So the difference is, again, core blood, it can't reduce inflammation. It doesn't help reset your immune system. It's really there. So core blood stem cells built the immune, your blood and immune system.
00:23:50
Speaker
Okay. So every expecting family out there, these, the hematopoietic stem cell is building a blood and immune system. And in order to reuse those, they have to replace a blood immune system. That's really...
00:24:04
Speaker
i wouldn't I don't want to say that's all they can do, but that's their primary focus is rebuilding or or building blood immune systems. okay Versus um a mesenchymal stem cell, which is a different type of stem cell found in the core tissue. Those cannot rebuild a blood and immune system, but their purpose is was to build bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, your vascular system. They also built your organs. So they're just two different things. So I guess I take that statement back. Yes, it can build a and bone and cartilage in an area, but it's not replacing anything, I guess I should say. It's not replacing anything. um So it's really there to aid your body to get to the root cause of that injury or that disease. And your body act is actually doing the healing.
00:24:55
Speaker
Not the stem cell. your actually body Your stem cell is just there to help your body do it. And think about it this way. All day long, we have these mesenchymal stem cells that are stored in our bone marrow.
00:25:07
Speaker
We also have them stored in our adipose fat. Think of your love handle area. They are coming out to heal your body. So if you get a skin knee, if your child falls, ah skins their knee, if they break their arm, those stem cells are coming out and trying to repair that, that the damage that's been done.
00:25:27
Speaker
As we get older, those stem cells deplete and they are exposed to environmental factors, poor diet, um they age and they just stop working as properly. So the the reason why we get more diseases as we age is because our stem cells age and they don't work quite as good as they did when we were young.
00:25:48
Speaker
right So if we can save the day one stem cells and cryo freeze them in time, then that child has those day one stem cells to use to repair their body.
00:26:02
Speaker
all the way throughout their life. But not only that, is because the technology has gotten so great that we can expand those stem cells, you can get a bolus of millions of those stem cells. So let's say, for example, you skin your knee. Maybe you have, or let's let's even think something great. let's ah let's think of Let's say a traumatic brain injury.
00:26:20
Speaker
Maybe five years old. Maybe you have a couple million stem cells coming out to help that tu that injury immediately. But what if you could take 100 million to go to the brain and help heal that.
00:26:35
Speaker
That's where you get significant results is because you were giving a bolus of millions of stem cells to go in, not just a couple thousand hundred thousand or whatever's left in your body. So that is personalized, what we call personalized medicine. And you're going to hear a lot more about that as time goes on.
00:26:53
Speaker
it's big, um not quite as big for the general population, but in our industry, it's it's becoming very popular.
Expectations and Education in Regenerative Medicine
00:27:03
Speaker
yeah um And some of these these physicians that are using these, ah we what we call autologous stem cells, autologous stem cell is your own stem cell.
00:27:12
Speaker
And they're just your ER r doctors. They're your OBGYNs. They're your orthopedic, any kind of specialty. they They just went to the normal med school. And what they've found out is through research that they can actually incorporate these autolycus stem cells into their practice. And if you talk to some of them, they'll tell you, we're getting better results now than we ever had from just using modern traditional medicine.
00:27:41
Speaker
um it's another resource that these families have that we're able to actually get to the root cause and heal these conditions. Yeah. Not all the time, sometimes, but that's that's the idea behind them.
00:27:53
Speaker
For sure. what i know you said not all the time. What should families, like what are the kind of the realistic expectations of what this can do and, you know, what maybe are still those limitations? Yeah.
00:28:06
Speaker
Yep, exactly. And again, I'll make a disclaimer. I'm not a medical doctor, so I am telling your viewers what I hear um from our physicians that we network with, from what we hear from our clients that are using stem cells. um And um I would say, realistically, when you use a stem cell, you want to see some kind of improvement. So let's let's talk about cerebral palsy.
00:28:33
Speaker
If you... if you use these stem cells and maybe you went from being able to turn your hands over if you have cerebral palsy, that's a win with that dose of stem cells. That's a win because you made progress, you made strides. And so what you want to see when you use these stem cells is a milestone every time you use them. And sometimes could that plateau, could you use them maybe two, three, four times every time you make another milestone. Could it plateau? Absolutely. You could use it five times and then you're not seeing any better results. And at that at that time, maybe you take a break or maybe you do some different modalities with the stem cells. um
00:29:18
Speaker
But I would say every if you're if you're seeing milestones every time you use them, you want to continue using them. That's that's the regeneration process in your body. So you're not you shouldn't expect to use them one time and you're healed. You're healed of this condition. That's definitely an unrealistic expectation that people should should should definitely realize. but So the idea is every time you use them, you make a um ah ah better ah a milestone in that condition.
00:29:46
Speaker
Okay. Okay. When families are, i mean, especially, you know, our clients, this has already been just I mean, just even getting to to baby has already been such an emotional rollercoaster.
00:30:02
Speaker
so And really any, you know, any parent, when you're already emotionally stretched, how do you help them evaluate this option from a place of clarity versus maybe panic or fear?
00:30:20
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. And I like to think of myself as an educator. Mm-hmm. And I have a, talked to a lot of families every day. And that's one thing that my company does is we offer a concierge service. So anyone that wants to call and talk to us from the beginning, all the way to whether they decide to do this or not, it's, it's okay. And I tell families, it's okay. It's not the end all be all. If you have the means and you feel that this is right for your family, then you should absolutely be doing this.
00:30:52
Speaker
But if you don't have the means to do it, do not be hard on yourself. You know, a lot of us don't have our stem cells. I just got my, so I'm 52 and I just got my stem cells harvested from my adipose fat. Yeah.
00:31:05
Speaker
So my kids are 21 and 19. They don't have their core blood. And I'm thanking God every day that I did not ah invest in that resource at that time because I, thought i I didn't realize, you know, that it was not ah going to be a great investment. But for their next two birthdays, they will be getting their stem cells harvested from their fat because they're 19 and 21. So if I can save their stem their youngest stem cells right now, today, then they're going to be that much better when they're 50, 60, 70 years old and something happens. They're going to have their 21-year-old stem cells to be able to use. But going back to the way I talk to families is...
00:31:42
Speaker
I educate, this is the this is the evolution of core blood and stem cell banking. Here's from a to Z, here's here's what's happening in in the world of stem cells. And I want you to understand how they're used, how core blood's used, how stem cells are used. um And this is an investment and I want you to feel good about it. I also go over the questions they should be asking every bank.
00:32:07
Speaker
and you know is it can i use these stem ah do you do you extract and grow out stem cells from the very beginning? And if you don't, do I get my money back? If I need to use these stem cells, can I use them at a practitioner or clinic of my choice? Or you know is it is it my choice? and Or do you tell me how and when I can use the stem cells? Those are all very important stem cells. Do you grow out the stem cells?
00:32:32
Speaker
Because if they don't grow out the stem cells, that family, are not they're not gonna be able to use to use them. And a lot of core blood banks will store the umbilical cord as a whole piece. So, but that when I talk to families, like, oh, well, I'm going to do core blood and stem cells from the umbilical cord tissue because those, that company, that core blood company does core tissue too. So then I go, well, did you ask them if they extract the stem cells and grow them out? Well, no.
00:32:57
Speaker
Call them back, ask them. I want, you know, make sure they tell you all of their processes. So we just go over everything in detail of what they should be asking, what they should expect, timeline purposes. And and I tell them, this is a personal decision.
00:33:13
Speaker
I want you to feel good about it. And whether you do it or not, that is not up to me. That's up to you and your family. So I'm going to talk to you and and tell you all the goods and bads and everything. I'm going send you an email. I'm going explain. It's going to have everything we talked about in this email.
00:33:27
Speaker
Do your research. Feel good about it. Call me back. Text me back with questions. And if you decide to move forward, then I will help you get set up. And if you decide not to move forward, I'm still going to give you a hug when I see you the next time. Because, you know, I'm here to educate you and and you have to feel good
Options for Obtaining Stem Cells Later in Life
00:33:43
Speaker
about this.
00:33:43
Speaker
Well, what I'm also hearing you say is while the the newborn stems and stem cells are kind of the greatest possibility, the ship hasn't sailed if you either are unable to then and maybe later, based off of what I'm hearing, your kiddos are now getting theirs done. You said, you know, at 52, you're getting yours done. So it's still possible. It's just maybe not ideal.
00:34:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's absolutely possible. In fact, ah my company started out as an adult stem cell bank. Oh gosh, that's amazing. ah Yeah, they were an adult stem cell bank. They take samples from adipose fat and from bone marrow harvested from their medical doctor. It gets sent into our lab. So that's where we started out. And the reason why we evolved into newborn stem cells is because...
00:34:37
Speaker
There's no one else out there. The core blood companies don't offer this this resource for expecting parents. So we have the the technology. We have the relationships with the top regenerative medicine clinics. And actually, then not even in the U.S., but in in the entire world. And so it's just coming in from a different source. So we should offer this to expecting families as well. But absolutely, we have people in their 80s getting their stem cells harvested. The only difference is...
00:35:07
Speaker
they're older so you're going to use more of them yeah and they might i can't say 100 they're not going to work as good because we don't have any head to head clinical trials on that but if you if you look at the science day one stem cells are the purest in their stem cell life they'll ever be so if you look at it from a science perspective those stem cells are the number one gold standard stem cell to use the second stem cell to use would be from your adipose fat And that's the reason for that is so at any age as an adult, you can get your adipose fat harvested. It's about 25 cc's of fat. I've done it myself. I told you that I did it myself. My kids are going do it. it's It's literally about a 30 minute process in a clinic and that 25 cc's of fat gets sent to a lab and then we extract them as a cumble stem cells out from that fat. But the reason why they're second behind the newborn stem cell is because they do age with you, but they are trapped in your fat. So they don't come out and work at like your bone marrow stem cells do. They turn over once every seven years.
00:36:07
Speaker
So because they're an older stem cell, you would have to use more of them if you if you're using them. um and But we're these adults are getting great results from with their adult stem cells from the fat. And then the third stem cell we like to say is your bone marrow stem cells. They age with you and they also come out and work all day long to heal your body. So they are exhausted. But...
00:36:34
Speaker
And you have to harvest them from bone marrow. So it's a little bit more of a process. Right. and But yeah, absolutely.
Stem Cell Storage Process and Tips for Parents
00:36:40
Speaker
If you don't have your stem cells, say, from your newborn, the gold standard, then yeah, there's another chance to get your stem cells from your adipose fat. Absolutely.
00:36:48
Speaker
Are there any risks that parents should be aware of, just medical, logistical, or otherwise? Yep. So these are autologous stem cells. So if you're going to be using these stem cells, I can i can't guarantee that you're not going to have side effects, but you have a very, very good chance because they're they're your own pathology. They work with your body. The only thing that I would say is you you take a chance of them not meeting your expectations. you've You've invested into this resource and you or something medically happens to your child and you you want these stem cells to cure that condition, if you will. Um, I think we have to set the expectations of, you know, it's regenerative medicine. So we have to think of them regenerating your body, um, on a long-term basis, but no, on a, on a grand scale of things, I would say using stem cells, again, I'm not a medical per doctor, but I would say using stem cells is safer than any kind of pharmaceutical, or any kind of surgery that you're going to undergo. But X again, it's your own pathology is your own biology working with your system.
00:37:51
Speaker
Right. If a medical need does arise, urgent or elective, how quickly can families access those stored stem cells? Because we have a working cell bank from the beginning, we are going to regrow from that cell bank when you when you order those from your client portal. We need three weeks.
00:38:10
Speaker
Three weeks to grow from that initial, from that, well, not initial, from the working cell bank. Initially, it takes us two to three months to everything processed and everything ready to go. Okay. Then once we have that ready to go, um it's a three week turnaround time. However, we have families that prepay for grown out stem cells from that working cell bank. Either they do it from the very beginning or maybe they'll wait a year or two and come back and say, you know what, I want to go ahead and prepay some grown out stem cells. if If they do that, then you can have these stem cells in less than 48 hours.
00:38:45
Speaker
because they prepaid them, we've grown them out, we've already done the contamination and viability and sterility testing on those stem cells. And so once they order those for emergency purposes, yes, they can have those within 48 hours. And our goal is for that child to never run out of stem cells. um What we also do is those original stem cells that came in from that umbilical cord, we call that a passage zero, meaning those are the original stem cells. We actually bundle those up and put them in a vial, put those in ah in a vial by themselves. We call those the master cells. And we do that and we save those in case there's and future technology that comes out that says, hey, we can do this, but they have to be original stem cells. They cannot be grown out stem cells. We have those saved for that family.
00:39:32
Speaker
And so those are your master cells. So we save those, we put them back in a different vial and a different doer. And we save those for that purpose, for that purpose. So that child will always have their original stem cells um if things come out for future technologies.
00:39:47
Speaker
Oh, I love that. I love that there's just this planning ahead and I really appreciate just the transparency and, you know, just everything that you all are doing. How does Vital Cells coordinate with the hospital and clinics and carriers? Kind of what's the nitty gritty of all of that?
00:40:02
Speaker
Yep. Super easy. So what happens is if an intended parent is, ah If they are interested in learning more, they would call probably me. Most of the time I would talk to them once they decide they want to move forward. Then they sign up early on our website. We ship a kit to the intended parents or the surrogate, sometimes both depends on the situation. And because what happens is that that kid is going to be brought to the hospital on the day of delivery.
00:40:35
Speaker
So that's why they they sign up early. did We get everything prepared behind the scenes. We get them set up with a medical courier. So, you know, usually the intended parent wants the the wants the kit and they will be responsible for bringing that to the birth of a child.
00:40:49
Speaker
um I've had situations where the intended parent said, you know what, we are planning on being there, but what if they go early? You know, there's all kinds of situations that can happen with childbirth. These these children come when they want to, right? Absolutely. So sometimes we've been known to send one to the surrogate and one to the intended parent. um That way we're covered on both sides. And then sometimes we just send it to the surrogate. it really depends on what the intended parent wants. This is all about them and what they feel comfortable and what they want.
00:41:18
Speaker
And so that that kit gets brought to the hospital once the child is born. that medical doctor will collect the core tissue and if there's any leftover core blood, and I wanna say this, the if if there's any kind of delayed cord clamping that that is being done, that is totally fine. We do not have to have that core blood. We'll take it if there's anything extra, but that baby can have all the blood that those parents want that baby to have, but it's required that we have the tissue. And so once the blood and the tissue gets put back into the medical kit,
00:41:52
Speaker
That kit's going to give yeah that medical provider is going to give that kit back to the intended parents. They're going to call a medical courier for kit pickup. We've already set the medical courier up on the back end. They just have to give them their name 24 seven. They will come wherever they're delivering. They will come pick up that kit and they expedite it to our lab. And it usually takes anywhere from 12 to 18 hours for us to get the kit. And then once we get the kit, the the parents get a confirmation email. Hey, we received the kit. We're going to get to work. And it takes us about two to three months to get everything and packaged up and working properly. And then then it's good to go from there. So it's a super easy process.
00:42:32
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds incredibly easy. When should this conversation really start taking place? Like how quickly can a parent say, this is what I want to do And now all of a sudden they have a kit in their hand.
00:42:44
Speaker
Yep. So we ship a kid out and like if they, once they make their decision, we can have it with them to them within 24 hours. We overnight kits to ten parents. But I would say typically people start looking at this, the beginning of third trimester. Mm-hmm.
00:42:59
Speaker
And it that gives them a few months to kind of do their research. We have people that call us that are 15 weeks pregnant or, you know, really anytime during the pregnancy, they can get educated. But I would say to make your final decision, especially on the surrogate side, I would say six to two months to six weeks early. and That way we get we can get everything prepared on the back end and get sent out. And if there's any hiccups, we still have time to get everything ironed out. um And typically there's not, but you you know you never know. I will have people call and say, oh my gosh, I forgot to do this. We're on our way to the hospital.
00:43:36
Speaker
ah You know, we're surrogates delivering right now. And I've been known to um call around to different hospitals. I get different kinds. It might not be a vital cells kit. It could be a poor blood kit that we use. They're all the same on the inside, basically. So we can, you know, we've we've been known to um have our independent parents go to Target and get get a little lunch pail. And the hospital hooks us up with a ah add little and ah bottle for the core tissue. So we yeah we pull out all stops if we have to, but we would rather not do that if we if we didn't have to. A hundred percent. I mean, sometimes it is all hands on deck when it comes to this, but yeah. So I would say a good six weeks to six to eight weeks is a good, good point for them to make their final decision.
00:44:29
Speaker
Perfect. You've done such a great job of really just explaining everything. Is there... any sort of maybe typical myth or misconception that you would want to clear up?
00:44:44
Speaker
Absolutely. So to just just to finish off this podcast, I want to let talented parents do your research. You're going to get... you could get a cord blood brochure from your doctor's office or your doula's office or your surrogate agency.
00:45:03
Speaker
There are a lot out there. Do your research. I would say call those cord blood banks, call call vital cells, call stem cell banks. there's a There's a big difference between the two. And get yourself educat educated. Ask those questions.
00:45:17
Speaker
Do you grow out stem cells? Can I use it when I want to? Or do you you know is there limitations of how and when I can use it? And I can't tell you how many times I've talked to physicians and they've tried to use their patients or their clients' stem cells from a core blood bank and it's just, you just can't. They don't have the technology for their for their for these families to be able to use those stem cells. Maybe in the future they will, but right now they don't. So I would say do your research, ask those questions, and you really, if you're going to invest in this, you want to invest in a bank that is going to give you a live stem cell count, that's the only stem cell count that matters, and that they're going to be able you're gonna be able to use these stem cells on demand whenever you and your medical provider see fit.
00:46:04
Speaker
not the lab. You own this, that you own this, these these parents own this themselves.
Contact Information and Closing Remarks
00:46:09
Speaker
They should be able to use them in conjunction with a medical provider when and how they want to use them. So I, that's probably my biggest advice to expecting families. And um so, yeah.
00:46:23
Speaker
Yeah. Leave it at that. So, you know, if for anyone who's listening, if you are working with egg donor and surrogate solutions and you are interested in, you know, finding out more about this, just reach out to your coordinator. They will, you know, get you connected with Corbett. But for anyone who's even slightly curious and wanting to learn more, what is the best next step and how can can they get hold of you? Absolutely. Probably the best step is to go to our website, vitalcells.com.
00:46:56
Speaker
And on the website that my personal number is on our website. And there's also a contact form they can fill out and it comes directly to me. And then I will reach out to them via text or or phone call and we'll set up a time at their convenience to talk.
00:47:11
Speaker
I love it. That's fantastic. Vitalcells.com. Vitalcells.com. And we'll have that in our show notes as well. um But yes. Oh my goodness. Well, Corbett, I can't thank you enough for, you know, just the clarity on a topic that can feel so overwhelming and mysterious and, you know, just beyond a lot of people. I have one last question for you, and it's a fun one. You've seen me this entire time umm sipping on my cup of coffee. Anyone who knows me, they know that coffee and I are never far from each other. um And so I always love to ask the question, what has filled your cup today? Literally or figuratively, what has been the thing to fill your cup?
00:47:55
Speaker
ah Today, there's two things actually that come to mind. And the first thing is, which is kind of weird, but I have started cold plunging. And it is most amazing thing for anyone out there that's heard about it and you're thinking about it. It's literally the most amazing thing.
00:48:13
Speaker
It gives you so much energy. And I go to a place that we, I have a pool in the backyard. So I was like, ah, I'm just going to start using the pool in the winter because it's, it's the proper temperature. I literally, it, it, it, my day gets going. I go out, I i go for my morning run.
00:48:30
Speaker
I hop in the pool for three minutes and, And it makes you so happy. Like literally, it's like a natural endorphin. um Anyway, I won't go into the story, but it's like natural endorphin. So that is was super fun today. And my second thing is to be with you, Whitney. I have been in this industry for about a decade. And anyone that knows me knows my passion and knows my heart for education educating on stem cells and again it's not to get people to do it it's to get people to get the right information i think it's super important and i love doing it and i i want to start my own podcast with with stem cells and that's why i'm like i'm gonna have to pick your brain because i i think there's so much information misinformation out there And that family or that families that don't get or like I wish I would have known this, I would have done this, I had no idea that this is even an option. So it's so important that we get this education out to families and the right education as much education is that my goal literally is to talk to as many expecting families as possible so that I can help them make an educated decision.
00:49:37
Speaker
So thank you so much. No, thank you. I love that. And again, just so grateful for your your passion and your desire to bring transparency and clarity to something that can feel, again, so overwhelming, but also can lead to, like you said, a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding and not having the the full pitch the full picture in a way that you know doesn't use fear or pressure. um And I think that means a lot to people, especially, you know, the people that are part of, you know, just this area of um of fertility. So thank you. I super appreciate that. um And also very impressed by your cold, your cold plunging skills, because I have attempted to do the cold shower thing and I last for about five seconds. So I am very impressed. Well, thank you again, Corbett. And again, for you know any clients that are working with egg donor and surrogate solutions and you are interested in this, just reach out to your coordinator and they will get you connected to Corbett. And then if you know you're just wanting to do a little bit of your own research first, go and check out vitalsales.com.
00:50:46
Speaker
So thank you so much. Thanks, Whitney. I appreciate your time.