Dr. Phan Toan Thang sees “magic” in cord tissue stem cells. The chief scientist’s passion for healing wounds led him to discover a way to create skin cells quickly and in large quantities by using the lining from umbilical cords.
Instead of using the limited amount of skin on a patient’s body to help heal burns, which is a painful and expensive process, the cells from the cord tissue lining provides cells to create new skin, bone, and even other body parts, such as the cornea in the eye. This method of skin growing can heal wounds from burns or diseases such as diabetes.
“Non-healing wounds are a big medical burden everywhere. They are associated with diabetes, stroke, heart problems and aging,” Dr. Than said, explaining the importance of stem cell technology, which can make it affordable for patients to get skin grafts.
The umbilical cord has always been considered medical waste and discarded shortly after birth. With new emerging research, such as Dr. Than’s, doctors and scientists are realizing the importance of umbilical cord stem cells.