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Stem cells as today’s treatment and the future potential


Learn more about the cutting-edge science of stem cells, that means the world to the families it helps.

Stem cell applications

Stem cells are used in many different disease areas and are being researched in even more. Umbilical cord tissue and umbilical cord blood are sources of stem cells that are now used in transplant medicine and introduce new medical options for families around the world.

30+

Years of cord blood in stem cell transplants

Helping tens of thousands of families worldwide. What’s even more exciting is the future potential of umbilical cord stem cells in regenerative medicine.

6M

Children have their stem cells stored in biobanks worldwide.

Cellaviva has grown to become the largest and most experienced private stem cell bank in Scandinavia.

85K

Transplants

In 1988, a life was saved for the first time using umbilical cord stem cells. Since then, more than 85.000 transplants have been performed.

Today’s treatments

Transplantation with stem cells is an established treatment for several serious diseases, particularly of the blood-forming organs and for congenital immunodeficiencies and metabolic disorders.

Cord blood stem cells are currently used in transplantation medicine to replace damaged blood and immune systems with healthy cells. A stem cell transplant, in which new healthy stem cells are derived from umbilical cord blood, for example, can cure patients with certain diseases by replacing the stem cells damaged by the patient’s disease or by a medical treatment such as chemotherapy with new blood-forming stem cells.

Cord blood stem cells are more immunologically immature than stem cells from bone marrow and blood, which is a major advantage as the cells are then more adaptable to tissue type and it is easier to match transplant patients with cord blood than with other stem cells.

Compared to cells from an adult individual, cord blood stem cells are more adaptable and have unique properties, which enable transplantation at higher levels of dissimilarity between donor and recipient tissue types. Additional benefits of cord blood stem cells include a lower rate of acute and chronic GvHD (Graft versus Host Disease) compared to bone marrow transplantation and a reduced risk of relapse.

Diseases currently treated by cord blood transplantation include congenital blood and immunodeficiency disorders, blood cancers, bone marrow disorders and inherited metabolic diseases. Research to find new areas of treatment where cord blood stem cells can be used is ongoing. Some of the diseases and conditions for which clinical trials are ongoing are autism, cerebral palsy and type 1 diabetes.

Blood disorders

Blood disorders

Cord blood has been used to treat certain blood diseases since 1988

Cancers

Cancers

Transplanted stem cells from cord blood can help regrow the healthy blood cells

Immune disorders

Immune disorders

Stem cells from cord blood can help rebuild a new healthy immune system.

Metabolic disorders

Metabolic disorders

Cord blood therapy helps by releasing enzymes in the case of metabolic disorders

Solid Tumors

Solid Tumors

Cord blood is used following chemotherapy in the treatment of solid tumors.

Cell therapies, transplants and stem cell treatments

Cellular therapies, or cell therapies, aim to treat diseases by using cells to repair, replace or modify other cells in the body. The treatment is carried out using autologous cells, from the patient’s own body, or allogeneic cells, from living or deceased donors.

As early as the 1930s, transplants of haematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells began, then as bone marrow transplants. Today there are a number of applications in our hospitals. Around 50 000 patients receive a stem cell transplantation each year, a therapy given to treat several deadly diseases including leukaemia, lymphoma, metabolic diseases and immune system diseases.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) give rise to all blood cells and the main source of hematopoietic stem cells is bone marrow and umbilical cord blood.

Compared to stem cells from bone marrow, stem cells in the umbilical cord blood are more immature and have a greater adaptability. Stem cells are both unaffected by environmental factors and at their most powerful at birth. In addition to their potency, when used in treatment, cord blood stem cells are less likely to cause complications during transplantations.

The properties of hematopoietic stem cells mean they can more easily integrate into a patient’s body. It’s easier to match transplant patients with cord blood than with other sources of stem cells. This makes cord blood an even more valuable resource for ethnic minorities, who have a harder time finding stem cell matches in registers of adult donors such as Tobiasregistret in Sweden.

Tomorrow’s potential

In addition to the current 80 diseases treated with stem cells today, there is a large and growing range of new experimental therapies that will hopefully be able to provide therapy using umbilical cord stem cells in the future. Promising research that could potentially impact a countless number of lives is being conducted in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, autism, cerebral palsy, MS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and more. Below you will find a partial list of diseases currently being researched or treated using stem cells like those found in cord blood and cord tissue.

Cellaviva ensures that viable stem cells are the only ones stored from each umbilical cord. We cultivate and isolate the stem cells in the umbilical cord tissue in the same way as when we deliver stem cells for clinical studies or for treatment. That way, Cellaviva can provide you with the exact number of vital stem cells you have available in the freezer. Great steps are being taken in research every single day and we will provide our customers with the best conditions to be able to use their cells if needed in the future.

80+

Standard treatments

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantations are used today as a therapy given for over 80 deadly diseases, including leukaemia, lymphoma, metabolic diseases and immune system diseases. Extensive research is being conducted with stem cell therapy to treat many currently incurable diseases.

200+

Clinical studies with umbilical cord tissue

Close to 250 clinical trials initiated worldwide study umbilical cord tissue stem cells in regenerative medicine. By harnessing their ability to create structural and connective tissue, they open up exciting new treatment options for some of the world's most devastating diseases.

2,500+

Supplied samples

Together with our partner, we have delivered stem cells for standard and experimental treatment of over 2,500 patients with various diagnoses. As we are fundamentally a research company developing advanced stem cell therapies, we are conducting clinical trials ourselves, with an initial focus on the treatment of type 1 diabetes and Covid 19.

Stem cells have incredible potential and powerful healing capabilities

Research on stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Research on stem cells from umbilical cord blood

Stem cell transplantation is an established treatment for several serious diseases, particularly in blood-forming organs, congenital immunodeficiencies and metabolic disorders. The number of diseases currently treated by stem cells is constantly increasing, as research progresses and we understand more about the potential and limitations of these medical fields. Clinical trials are underway for cord blood treatments of neurological disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy and stroke, autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, eczema, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS), cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, etc., with promising results.

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Research on stem cells from umbilical cord tissue

Research on stem cells from umbilical cord tissue

Umbilical cord tissue stem cells have an immunomodulatory capacity, a property that could be useful in a variety of areas where there are currently few treatments, such as for autoimmune conditions and transplant rejection. These cells have also shown to be able to influence the immune system by activation, suppression and modulation: immune activation for cancer treatment, immune suppression for treatment of graft-vs-host disease and transplant rejection, and immune modulation for treatment of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes. The potential therapeutic value they offer for treatment in a wide range of diseases is increasing all the time.

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Stem Cell Research in the Spotlight

  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
  • Chrohn’s Disease
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Eczema, Graft-Versus-Host Disease
  • GvHD, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
  • Psoriasis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Autism, Cerebral Palsy
  • CP Injury
  • Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
  • Hearing impairment (acquired sensorineural)
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Stroke
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Cartilage Damage
  • Cleft Palate
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Regeneration of Bone Tissue and Cartilage
  • Burns
  • Liver Fibrosis
  • Liver Cirrhosis
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis
  • Reproduction-Related Conditions
  • Myocardial Infarction
  • Heart Disease
  • Heart Damage
  • Repair of Heart Tissue
  • Vascular Damage
  • Breast Cancer
  • Lung Cancer
  • Kidney Cancer
  • Solid Tumors
  • Anemias
  • Leukemias
  • Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD)
  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  • Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)
  • Acute Respiratory Failure Syndrome (ARDS)
  • Asthma
  • Covid-19
  • Diabetic Foot Ulcer
  • Type 2 Diabetes
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
  • Visual Impairment