Singapore Cord Blood Bank services, but retain ownership over the use of their cord blood. Cord blood is the blood that circulates through the umbilical cord from the foetus to the placenta. After delivery, the placenta is almost always thrown away. Yet this humble umbilical cord has become a life saving and precious commodity, because cord blood is rich in blood stem cells. Blood stem cells are young or immature cells that can transform into other forms of essential blood cell types (pluripotent), such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The use of blood stem cells has emerged as a potentially
Social uterus Social uterus Social uterus is a developmental concept in family therapy for psychosomatic disorders. Social uterus as an integrative model of family development was invented by Vladislav Chvála and Ludmila Trapková in 1990's. The metaphor of a social uterus was formed by comparing the biological function of the uterus and the maturation of the foetus inside it from conception to childbirth with the changes in the family from the birth of the child up to its separation around the age of 18. The metaphor translates facts well known from the biology of reproduction to the social level. In the "social