Cord blood transplants as a life-saving treatment and a treatment that improves the quality of life are already working in the field in Israel and around the world. While in Israel, in a small number of cases, it is a medical protocol that has come out of its research framework and stands on its own as part of the treatment options, around the world, the use of cord blood has been adopted in many places as an acceptable treatment.
Let's start from the end: Cord blood is a biological insurance policy that can be utilized in Israel and worldwide. While in some of the indicators, the treatment given through the use of cord blood is in the scope of research, it means that to the extent there is a treatment being performed in other clinics abroad, there is always the possibility to take a cord blood unit preserved at the National Cord Blood Center and fly it for the specific treatment conducted beyond the borders of Israel.
Cord Blood - The Fields of Research in Israel
The first cord blood transplant in Israel was conducted in 1994 by Professor Arnon Nagler. Stem cells that he transplanted into a cancer patient constituted the starting point for research and the use of cord blood in Israel. Professor Nagler, President of the Hemato-Oncology Center at Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, has signed off on dozens of successful studies in Israel and worldwide.
Today in Israel parallel studies are being conducted in Israel by Dr. Omer Bar-Yosef, an expert in pediatric neurology and director of the Weinberg Institute for Child Development at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center.
The studies are being conducted to improve the early diagnosis of children with brain damage and to examine the effect of cord blood on improved functionality among children on the autism spectrum. The study's initial results dealing with providing treatment to children on the autism spectrum are scheduled to be published in 2023.
Treating Cancer through Cord Blood
Various types of blood cancer have been successfully treated using stem cells from cord blood as part of routine treatment. Tens of thousands of transplants of this type have been performed on children and adults in Israel and around the world. Stem cell transplant of cord blood is performed in several situations: When the disease is in an advanced stage, where other treatments have proven ineffective, or the sole treatment capable of saving a life. In the cases of Libi Riesen and Amit Kadosh - cord blood saved their lives and assisted their rehabilitation.
The list of diseases and illnesses treated by stem cells is long. It includes inter-alia: Various types of bone marrow cancers, leukemia, syndromes of lymphomas (cancer of the lymph nodes), myelodysplasia (pre-leukemia), congenital defects in the immune system, and more.
In cases where stem cells are necessary for a bone marrow transplant - a blood donation from those related genetically to the patient or from a first-tier relative (such as a parent, brother, or sister) will be preferred.
Improving the Quality of Life in Autism Using Cord Blood
The pioneer in cord blood transplants is an American, Professor Joanne Kurtzberg, a pediatrician, who has since the mid-1990s been a leader in the field's research conducted at her lab located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina Results from Prof. Kurtzberg's research have paved the way for additional studies being conducted in Israel and around the world.
Currently, various and parallel studies are being conducted to improve the functionality metrics of children on the spectrum in several locations across the globe: in the United States, South Korea, Australia, and Israel - and point to an improvement in the child's functionality metrics on the communications and behavioral levels.
Approximately 30 children have been participants in the research conducted in Israel by Dr. Bar-Yosef so far. From the parents' reports among children who have already completed their participation in the study, we learn that there has been an improvement in the children's functioning, as in the case of 6-year-old Nevo, who was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum, and his condition has greatly improved.
Bar-Yosef's study is expected to be concluded during 2023. It is wished that it will be possible to point to an improvement in the condition of approximately 20% of the children participating in the study to obtain Ministry of Health consent for treatment using cord blood.
To read Bar Yosef's research on autism
Cord Blood as a Treatment for Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a collective name for several impairments in motor functions that manifest in limb paralysis, sensory, visual, or motor disorders, and more. These defects occur during pregnancy, childbirth, or later.
Cerebral palsy is liable to occur for several reasons: Distress during childbirth, infections during pregnancy, low birth weight, and even serious injuries after birth and in early childhood.
The significance of the injury during birth - damage to the brain tissue and its surrounding tissue. The study tests whether the surrounding tissue receives support via cord blood and if it can facilitate improvement and rehabilitation.
As part of Dr. Bar-Yosef's studies, research is being conducted to examine the effect of cord blood on cerebral palsy. Presently this subject is being studied in a group of 4 children. The study will continue for the coming two years.
To read about the research conducted by Dr. Bar-Yosef on the subject of cerebral palsy
