Menstrual Blood Can Provide Adult Stem Cells
Before you say yuck, consider this - menstrual blood contains adult stem cells that can develop into 9 different types of highly valuable cells:
- Heart cells
- Lung cells
- Nerve cells
- Muscle cells
- Cells that line the inside of blood vessels
- Pancreatic cells
- Liver cells
- Fat cells
- Bone cells
Xiaolong Meng, M.D. and his colleagues, in lab tests, coaxed the endometrial regenerative cells (ERCs) (stem cells in menstrual blood) into different types of cells as described above. Within five days, the fledgling heart cells were beating!
ERCs may be a source of patient-specific stem cells for women, the researchers suggest. The cells “can not only be banked until future use, but can also be expanded and pre-differentiated into various tissues so that patient-specific tissues are ‘on standby’ and ready for use when needed,” Meng and colleagues published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.
The study was designed and funded by Medistem Laboratories, which has filed patent applications related to endometrial regenerative cells.
Source: CBSNews
February 7th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Okay, so answer me this. I am a 42 year old female that suffers from a rare auto-immune liver disease called primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). I will need a new liver at some point. How can I go about preserving my menstrual blood now to possibly use in the future to grow a new liver for myself?? I only have a few menstruating years left.