Stem Cell 101
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 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
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:
- 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?
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.
Your pet has the perfect stem cells
Autologous treatments use your pup’s own biology to heal from within. It’s a perfect match!
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.
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.