Stem Cell 101

What are stem cells?

Nature’s way of healing from within

Stem cells give rise to new, healthy cells that can repair and replace tissues damaged by injury, disease, or aging. There are two things that make stem cells vastly different from other cells in our body:

  • Stem cells are capable of self-renewal.

  • Stem cells can turn into other types of healthy cells such as bone, heart, and brain cells.

Stem cell health benefits

Stem cells also have other properties that are beneficial to our health. They have been shown to do the following:

  • Reduce inflammation

  • Navigate to the site of injuries

  • Reduce fibrosis (scarring)

  • Increase growth of new blood vessels

There are different kinds of stem cells

Embryonic stem cells

Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) are derived from embryos and have caused moral and ethical controversy. They are able to become any tissue type.

Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Hematopoietic Stem Cells pose no ethical issues. They differentiate into red or white blood cells. They are typically harvested from umbilical cord blood (newborns) and bone marrow (adults).

Stem cells banked by gallant

Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal Stem Cells pose no ethical issues. They can become bone, cartilage, muscle, adipose (fat) cells, among others. They are harvested from umbilical cord and placental tissue (newborns), bone marrow and adipose tissue (adults). Our proprietary process extracts MSCs from the reproductive tissue discarded during your pup's spay/neuter.

Stem Cell Therapy

While traditional medicine can require daily medication and surgeries that result in difficult side effects, stem cell therapy addresses the root cause of injuries and age-related illnesses by healing from within.

For over a decade, stem cell therapies have improved the quality of life of thousands of dogs with common canine concerns such as the following:

common canine concerns.
  • Chronic issues like dry eyes and allergic skin conditions
  • Diseases that affect the kidney, liver, bowels and spine
  • Age-related conditions like osteoarthritis
  • Injuries like torn ligaments and tendons

Treatment Types

Allogenic treatments

Use stem cells from a healthy donor. These can be delivered as an off-the-shelf therapy.

Autologous treatments

Use the individual’s own stem cells. Young healthy stem cells can be cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for use in later years.

Why bank my pet’s stem cells?

  1. A simple choice now is best for the future

    Up to 99% of stem cells are lost over time due to aging. That is why over 5 million parents have banked their children’s stem cells at birth.

  2. Your pet has the perfect stem cells

    Autologous treatments use your pup’s own biology to heal from within. It’s a perfect match!

  3. Avoid stressful procedures

    Autologous therapies in pets today are derived from bone marrow or adipose tissue – this means putting an elderly and/or ailing dog under anesthesia for an invasive procedure.

  4. Once-in-a-lifetime

    Gallant’s proprietary patent-pending process turns a spay or neuter procedure into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save young healthy stem cells for use in later years.

Ready to learn more?

Explore our stem cell banking plans or chat with one of our pet-loving experts.