Iranian Scientists Indigenize Solution for Isolation of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells
“The monopoly of several European and American companies in the production of polymer solution for isolating umbilical cord blood stem cells has been broken by the complete production of this product domestically by Iranian researchers,” said Hamed Da’emi, a faculty member at Royan Research Institute and the managing director of a knowledge-based company.
He stressed that the solution, which was previously completely imported, is now completely produced domestically and has been made available to umbilical cord blood banks.
“It took several years from the start of studies to reaching the industrial production stage. Along the way, we faced numerous technical challenges, including the precise design of the polymer formulation, controlling sterilization conditions, and maintaining the stability of the solution at low temperatures,” Da’emi added.
He explained that the process of collecting cord blood involves several steps, noting, “After receiving the cord blood from the mother, the blood is transferred to storage banks, where it is mixed with special solutions to separate out the red blood cells as unnecessary cells and prepare the remaining stem cells for storage at very low temperatures (around minus 200 degrees). The polymer solution is used exactly at this stage.”
In a relevant development in September, Iranian scientists at the Royan Research Institute’s Cord Blood Bank had also started treatment of patients with severe arthritis with umbilical cord stem cells, describing the initial results as highly successful.
“We have started treating patients with severe arthritis, including knee, hip and shoulder joint arthritis, with umbilical cord stem cells since last week, and the initial research results have been very promising,” said Morteza Zarrabi, the managing director of the Royan Research Institute’s Cord Blood Bank.
Noting that the product has reached a stage where umbilical cord stem cells can now be used to treat patients with arthritis, he said, “We are making efforts to provide the possibility of treating various diseases by utilizing stem cells from blood and umbilical cord tissue, and the initial results have been very successful.”
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