TEHRAN (Iran News)- Iran has built the biggest cord blood bank in Middle-East which is run by indigenous know-how, a senior medical official said Wednesday. “Iran has the biggest hybrid cord blood bank in the Middle-East and we collect samples from other countries, including Turkey, Turkmenistan, Romania, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Norway, Canada, Britain, the UAE, […]
“Iran has the biggest hybrid cord blood bank in the Middle-East and we collect samples from other countries, including Turkey, Turkmenistan, Romania, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Norway, Canada, Britain, the UAE, and Oman, as well,” Managing Director of the cord blood bank technological company Morteza Zarrabi said in Tehran on Wednesday.
He added that 120,000 samples of cord blood have so far been stored in the country.
Zarrabi explained that the cord blood taken from different people is kept in the bank with the help of fully indigenous know-how, adding that the cord blood banks in the neighboring states have been set up by the European and US firms which take the samples to their own countries after collection and storage.
Cord blood (umbilical cord blood) is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders.
There are several methods for collecting cord blood. The method most commonly used in clinical practice is the “closed technique”, which is similar to standard blood collection techniques.
With this method, the technician cannulates the vein of the severed umbilical cord using a needle that is connected to a blood bag, and cord blood flows through the needle into the bag. On average, the closed technique enables collection of about 75ml of cord blood cells.
Collected cord blood is cryopreserved and then stored in a cord blood bank for future transplantation. Cord blood collection is typically depleted of red blood cells before cryopreservation to ensure high rates of stem cell recovery.
- source : FNA, Iran News
