Additional Services Offered
With growing health care facility in India, it is very well expected that life expectancy of an individual will increase in coming years and can go up to Seventy-Five (75) years. Additional Storage Programme is a provision offered to parents to opt for extended storage of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells for an additional period of Fifty-Four (54) years. This allows for secured storage for a longer duration in comparison to just 21yrs. The Additional Storage Period starts only after the completion of the primary Agreement i.e. on the Twenty-First (21st) birthday of the Baby. The Client has the option to either choose storage for 21yrs only or opt for additional 54yrs as well.
About HLA
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) are proteins or markers found on most cells in our body. A patient’s immune system uses HLA markers to know which cells belong to their own body and which belong to the donor.
Why is HLA typing needed?
HLA typing is an important test on stem cells to identify a match for patients scheduled for cord blood stem cell transplants3. The best transplant outcome happens when a patient’s HLA and the HLA of the baby’s cryopreserved cord blood stem cells (donor) closely match.
There are 6 antigens normally tested for matching. Since the cord blood stem cells are immature, it poses lower risk of complications after engraftment, especially graft vs host disease (GVHD), a potentially serious complication which arises when the immune cells which are part of the donated stem cells, attack the patient’s body.
That is why, even a 4 out of 6 match is just as effective at curing patients as compared to a 6/6 match in bone marrow transplants.
Why is HLA typing recommended at the time of storage?
The entire process of HLA typing and matching is time-consuming and takes almost 6-9 weeks from decision for HLA typing of both stem cells and patient till transplant. HLA typing does not guarantee that the stored stem cells will be a match with the patient. Isn’t that a waste of time, when the patient is already critical waiting for treatment. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary delay, it is recommended to perform HLA typing on stem cells right at the time of storage for ready access whenever in requirement. If the HLA type is already available, all that the patient has to do is get his own HLA type done and match it against the available data. This takes just 2-3 weeks and saves crucial time for the patient in need and allows the family and physician to take steps accordingly. Getting HLA typing done at the time of storage also prevents wastage of precious stem cells since the test is done using cord blood sample leftover within the tubes instead of using one of the three cryopouch segments which would ideally be required for final testing at the time of release. One of the significant factors that influence the transplant outcomes is the TIME – how early the patient gets the matched stem cell unit for treatment.
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