Much like you plan now for your future financial health, you can, and should, plan for the future of your physiological health by storing your stem cells as personal insurance. Now is the time for collection, when you're healthy and unlikely to have stem cells already damaged or programmed for disease.
Adults with a positive family history of cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, neurologic diseases or autoimmune disorders should take advantage of this opportunity to protect themselves now, while they are healthy. Many people diagnosed with a disease requiring a bone marrow transplant are unable to find a healthy match, as the chances of finding a suitable donor can be frighteningly low. There are tremendous clinical and economic advantages to autologous stem cell transplantation (receiving your own stem cells) as there are no issues with immune rejection. Engraftment with your own stem cells is faster, safer and much less costly than receiving someone else's stem cells (allogeneic).
"Stem cell therapy is the most exciting new breakthrough in medicine. It gives me great peace of mind to know that my own stem cells will be banked as bio-insurance for me. Now I am perpared for my future as the beneficiary of medical benefits while I am alive"
- Suzanne Somers
Plan for a healthy future now. Today is the best day to bank your stem cells..
Reasons to Have Your Stem Cells Collected and Stored Now
(while you are healthy), Instead of Later (when you may become ill)
(1) Engraftment: The process by which transplanted or transfused cells (for example, after an adult stem cell transplant) begin to grow and reproduce themselves within the recipient. Your stem cells that are collected at the time of illness and then transplanted back into you appear to be compromised by the body's immune system, even though the cells are yours. At the onset of disease, your immune system begins to respond and, even though the cells transplanted are your own, the cells collected and transplanted during this time of illness seem to be subject to this immune response in a significant way and may compromise the cells efficacy. However, if you had your stem cells collected during a healthy time, your immune response during illness does not seem to affect these cells as much. Therefore, it is beneficial to have your stem cells collected and stored while you are healthy to ensure better engraftment should you become ill and need your stem cells transplanted!
(2) Stem Cell Aging: It is important to collect and store your stem cells as early as possible during your lifetime. Although having your stem cells collected at a young age is better, you are never too old to have them collected and stored. However, as we age, there is evidence that our cells (including stem cells) appear to become less active and efficient in their tasks. In addition, as we age the number of stem cells we produce declines. Throughout our lives, our stem cells reproduce continually and with each replication lose some of their effectiveness. At the ends of our chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres, which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide and hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer. Yet, each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter as we grow older. When they get too short, the cell no longer can divide and becomes inactive or "senescent" or dies. This process is associated with aging, cancer and a higher risk of death. Therefore, it is wiser to have your stem cells collected and stored as soon as possible since tomorrow you are another day older!
(3) Disease and Stem Cell Mobilization: Should you become ill or infirmed, your ability to produce stem cells in significant quantities or the effectiveness of those stem cells produced may be compromised. In fact, certain diseases (particularly blood cancers) may render your cells useless for a potential life saving transplant because of potential cancer cells that may be included in the cell population that is transplanted or stem cells that have genetic defects that could cause tumors or other cancer cells. Under these circumstances, you may have to look for an outside donor to provide their stem cells for your transplant. Another donor is usually extremely difficult to find and even if a match is considered, you would most likely need to take immunosuppressive drugs the rest of your life and may even suffer from more extreme side effects like tissue rejection or graft vs. host disease. Therefore, it is usually in your best medical interest to be able to use your own stem cells for a transplant and to have available many healthy stem cells before you get sick!
