Stem Cell Product Quality Control (QC) and Potency Assays
HemoGenix® considers quality control in stem cell transplantation and cord blood storage of paramount importance. In particular, the purpose of a stem cell transplant is to replace the damaged blood - forming system with a new and viable blood-forming system. If the cells being transplanted cannot grow by proliferating, they are of no use to the patient. When umbilical cord blood is stored, it is necessary to know, at different intervals of time, that the frozen cells are still capable of proliferating. If, after 5, 10 or even 15 years in the frozen state, the cells do not exhibit proliferation, they cannot be used.
It is for this reason why our potency assays for stem and progenitor cell quality control detect proliferation and how a proliferation assay calibrated to an external standard, can help standardize the colony-forming cell assay . The following pages explain why this is important and how HemoGenix® provides the tools needed to determine stem cell potency.