What are stem cells
Stem cells are special types of cells. They can divide indefinitely, but can also change into other cells. There are many different types of stem cells. When we talk about stem cells on our site, we mean the blood-forming stem cells, also known as blood stem cells.
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Blood cells
Stem cells are located in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is a soft soft tissue that is located within the central cavities of various bones in the body. Stemcells produce the different types of specialized cells found in the blood: both red blood cells and the many kinds of white blood cells needed by the body’s immune system.
- Red blood cells transport oxygen to all parts of the body through hemoglobin that binds oxygen.
- White blood cells defend the body against foreign substances and invaders and help clean up dead cells in the body.
- Platelets play an important role in blood clotting.
While you are reading this, your stem cells are producing new cells. This goes on all day long. About 350 million platelets and red and white cells are produced per minute. After a stem cell donation, the body replenishes the cells within a short period of time.
Function
Stem cells have two important functions:
- Maintaining the amount of blood cells in your body
- Ensure extra production of blood cells in case of infection or bleeding
As a stem cell donor you only donate blood stem cells. Your body is constantly producing stem cells, so you can easily miss them.
What do stem cells do in the patient's body?
With a serious blood disease, such as leukemia, the production of healthy blood cells is disturbed. Healthy blood cells are needed for the transport of oxygen, combating infections and to prevent bleeding. The disrupted production of blood cells puts a patient in a life-threatening situation. With a stem cell transplant, a patient receives well-functioning stem cells that start producing new and healthy blood cells.
Immune system
Before a patient can undergo a stem cell transplant it is necessary to "switch off" his own immune system. This is done by treating the patient with a dose of chemotherapy and radiotherapy that is so high that the bone marrow is irreparably damaged. Without this treatment the immune system of a patient will attack and destroy the donor cells causing the transplant to fail.
The new stem cells from a donor will be passed as a fluid through an intravenous drip. From here the stem cells will find their way to the bone marrow. Once there, they attach themselves and start to produce new blood cells that will form the patients new immune system. This is called engraftment. Engraftment normally takes around two to three weeks.
Recover
In addition to the production of new stem cells and blood cells, the donor cells can also recognize abnormal cells. If donor cells and remove any remaining abnormal cells. This gives the patient a chance to heal completely..
Education
Are you a student, student or teacher and do you want to do a lesson, lecture or profile paper on stem cell donation, read more about our educational packages (only available in Dutch).
Research
Nowadays, stem cells are often in the news because they may contribute to the recovery of diseased or damaged organs. At Matchis we are only concerned with the donation process of blood stem cells for a patient. We do not conduct stem cell research at Matchis.