Cryopreservation is the Clinical Method of Preserving the Umbilical Cord
                     Cryopreservation is the Clinical 
Method of Preserving the 
Umbilical Cord
Stem cell therapy in India
Source of Umbilical Cord Blood
 Umbilical cord was at first 
discovered in 1974, as the 
main source of hematopoietic 
stem cells as well as the 
progenitor cells. The first 
transplantation of the 
umbilical cord was done in 
1988 for the treatment 
Fanconi Anemia in France. 
 Earlier the tissues of the 
umbilical cord were 
considered as a waste but in 
the past decade, it has been 
seen that these tissues can be 
used for deriving 
mesenchymal stem cells, 
from various compartments of 
the umbilical cord. 
Source of Umbilical Cord Blood
 The main disadvantage is 
the transient nature of the 
tissue of the Umbilical cord 
as it is only available for a 
short time of period after 
postpartum. However, 
cryopreservation can be 
used for the preservation 
of umbilical cord and its 
components. Here you can 
get the details about the 
cryopreservation of the 
different types of umbilical 
cord vessels.
1. Cryopreservation of Umbilical Cord-derived 
vessel
 The UC blood vessels are cut 
off in an appropriate diameter 
without any branches. It 
makes the UC derived vessels 
as the most effective for the 
cryopreservation. The process 
of cryopreservation of the 
umbilical cord does not infer 
the preservation of the 
components of the cell.
 So, the medium of 
cryopreservation is composed 
up off saline solution. The 
cryopreservation of the cord 
blood vessels can be 
preserved in the walls of 
blood vessels.
2. Cryopreservation of Wharton’s jelly
 Wharton’s jelly is a gelatinous 
substance which cannot be 
found in the human body after 
the birth. It helps in protecting 
the blood vessels and provides 
flexibility to the cord. 
  It consists of a huge amount 
of growth factors and 
components of the 
extracellular matrix as 
collagen, sulfated 
glycosaminoglycans, and 
hyaluronic acid.
3. Cryopreservation of the UC cellular 
component
 The process of cryopreservation 
allows preservation in both 
suspensions as well as whole 
tissue fragmentation. 
Contemporary cryopreservation 
technologies support the long-
term preservation of the cells 
that can preserve the adipose 
tissue, follicle tissue, fragments 
of bone marrow, ovarian and 
testicular tissues after thawing. 
 The umbilical cord tissue must 
be processed before the storage 
so that it can reduce the time, 
expenses of the material help in 
storing the cells in natural 
environments, and the cells can 
be isolated as well as expanded 
as per requirements.
4. Prospects of UC banking
 UC derived cells are needed for the 
treatment of cardiovascular 
diseases, failures of skeletal 
muscles, neurological autoimmune 
disorders. So, there is a huge 
demand for the preservation of the 
blood vessels, cellular component, 
and WJ. 
 The effectiveness of obtaining cells 
from the thawed 
tissues of the umbilical cord is 
mainly affected by the 
cryoprotectant medium, protocol 
for isolation of cells and the mode 
of freezing.
Different Methods of Processing
 cord blood that leads to the 
purification of the cord blood 
before the preservation of 
the final product. Once the 
cells are being isolated and 
are extracted from the RBCs 
and plasma.
 They are then mixed with the 
cryoprotectant and are 
stored in a cryo-bag by a 
process known as controlled 
freezing. This process is done 
for the long-term 
preservation of cells so that 
they can be used in future 
for the 
treatment of various kinds of
 untreatable diseases.
References:
https://www.cordlifeindia.com/blog/cryopr
eservation-clinical-method-preserving-um
bilical-cord/
https://www.cordlifeindia.com/blog/cord-bl
ood-banking-need-know-preservation-uc-i
mportant/