Are your own stem cells better than placental stem cells?
The Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine prefers autologous stem cells, which are harvested from your own body. The clinic explains that how placental cells are obtained, processed, frozen and thawed can affect how many living cells remain, and that a high cell count is not the same as viable colony forming units. MCRM uses only autologous stem cells.
It is a common misconception that placental stem cells are superior to your own body’s stem cells. This is actually untrue and the team at the Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine has put together a quick blog that explains why your body’s stem cells are much more superior compared to placental stem cells.
Placental Stem Cells May Have Large Volume But Low Quality
You may see some clinics advertising extremely high stem cell count and you may be thinking that has to be good, right? Well, not exactly! In fact, studies have shown that the majority of these placental stem cells are actually not viable. These cells as a whole are extremely low quality due to the process used to obtain, process, freeze and thaw umbilical cord stem cells.
Autologous stem cells on the other hand are harvested from your own body and reinjected to provide the highest possible outcome for patients dealing with a variety of different health conditions.
Colony Forming Units Are a Key Unit of Measurement
Companies who use placental stem cells will shy away from referencing “colony forming units”. CFU’s or colony forming units are simply the number of viable units that can be used in a regenerative medicine procedure. This is quite different from the total number of stem cells. Some clinics will advertise millions of stem cells, when in reality there are very few if any colony forming units.
At MCRM since we only use autologous stem cells, we’re able to maximize the number of viable stem cells because they’re in fact coming from you and you alone.
Stem Cell Harvesting Techniques Key to Superior Outcomes
Our alliance with Greyledge allows us to utilize the latest techniques to harvest the highest quality stem cells possible from our patients. The key role of stem cells in orthopedic procedures is for them to replicate within your body to help heal damaged tissue. Thanks to our high quality in-house regenerative medicine laboratory, as well as our Board Certified physicians we feel strongly that we’re able to provide the highest quality outcomes for our patients.
Learn More About How Leveraging Your Own Stem Cells Can Improve Your Quality of Life
If you’re tired of aching joints and are looking for relief outside of surgery, why not reach out to our team here at Michigan Center for Regenerative Medicine? We’ll be happy to schedule a consultation with one of our Board Certified physicians who can sit down with you and give you the time you need to lay out a plan to improve your quality of life. Our team can be reached by phone at (248) 216-1008 or through our online contact form.
What Are The Differences Between Placental Derived Stem Cells And Autologous Stem Cells?
Placental stem cells are derived from a newborn’s placental blood or tissue whereas autologous stem cells are cells which are harvested from your own body and then reinjected in areas where you are experiencing pain or limited mobility. Additionally placental stem cells are dead cells and studies have shown they will have minimal to no effect on regenerative orthopedics procedures. Autologous stem cells, on the other hand, have a variety of different applications in the medical world, which is why our team at MCRM works so hard to stay current with this growing area of regenerative medicine.
Benefits of Autologous Stem Cells
There are a whole host of benefits of autologous stem cells compared to placental derived stem cells, a few of which include:
- Help Your Body Heal Faster – Autologous stem cells have been popular over the past several years as a way to help patients deal with a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. If an area of the body becomes damaged, autologous stem cells can be injected and respond by increasing the number of platelets in that area. This in turn allows the damaged area to heal faster and more effectively.
- Using Your Own Stem Cells – With autologous stem cells, your own cells are drawn and ultimately returned to the tissue surrounding the damaged area. Having your own platelet enriched blood injected directly into damaged tissue helps the body naturally recover much faster.
More Questions Patients Ask
Why use your own stem cells instead of umbilical cord cells?
Stem cells from your own body, also called mesenchymal stem cells, may support your natural healing process. Umbilical and placental cells are frozen, shipped and thawed, and many may not survive that process. There is limited research on foreign cells for musculoskeletal conditions, and the quality of the lab that harvested them can be hard to verify.
By Board-certified Doctor John Santa Ana, DO
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