A few weeks ago I announced that BioEden were sponsoring me to attend BritMums Live. BioEden are such an interesting brand to work with and it has truly been eye opening to learn about what they do and how their work could have a positive impact on the health of our children. BioEden are the world leader in tooth stem cell banking. How does this affect you and your children? Read on to find out.
I interviewed Leon Staff who is Head of Sales at BioEden and I learned such a lot!
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What are stem cells?
We hear a lot in the news and media about stem cells, they have been around a long time. A stem cell is simply a cell in early development that has the ability to repair.
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Are stem cells from teeth different to other stem cells?
It is the Mesenchymal stem cell that is extracted from teeth. It is non-invasive and they are very good quality cells and have more potential use than the stem cells extracted from cord blood. Stem cells from teeth can be us used in nerve, bone and tissue repair.
I chatted a little more to Leon about the differenced between cord blood stem cells and those from teeth. One of the major differences being the vastly different window of opportunity.
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Why should parents store their children’s stem cells?
It is the opportunity to safeguard your child’s health and their own cells are a perfect match and readily available if they are needed in the future.
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What sort of diseases can be helped by these cells?
There are some examples are cardiac tissue repair, diabetes, eye sight being restored.
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How many teeth need to be banked?
One single tooth can be used and once it is received the cells are isolated and tested to benchmark quality. This guarantees the best cells are being stored and they will be passed by a qualified scientist and then stored. Some do fail due to contamination. If they fail, the process is redone with the next available tooth, at no additional charge.
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Why are BioEden different to other similar businesses?
BioEden are very specific and have specialist expertise in this area alone. They are the longest established tooth storing facility celebrating their 10th anniversary this year in 2016! Operating in over 20 countries, with very rigorous benchmarking procedures make them stand out from the rest.
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Is it expensive?
Access Plan: £5 a month with 10% bonus and secure today’s prices for the future
Active Plan: £295 initial fee and then £12.95 per month
Annual Plan: £995 up front (one year of storage included in this) plus storage fee of £95 per year
Advance Plan: £2245 which includes all costs and 21 years of storage
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Which teeth are best?
The younger the tooth, the younger the cells and it is also easier to extract. Ideally no decay means the teeth are likely to pass the rigorous testing procedures. Bioeden offer a tooth collection kit without having to sign up, so a parent has it to hand if a child’s tooth falls out. The tooth must be stored correctly and the procedure with the kit used properly so that the tooth can be tested.
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Does my dentist have to be informed?
You do not need to inform a dentist or have a dentist involved in the procedure. As mentioned above the teeth must be stored correctly in the fridge and collected by a courier with all the relevant paperwork who will take it to a lab to be tested.
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Can you start the plan at any time?
Yes. You can start the plan anytime as there are options to suit everyone. The purpose of the Bioeden mission is to make stem cell storage an affordable reality for parents. They want the work and clinical trials they perform to help save lives in the future.
Disclosure: BioEden are my #BML16 sponsor