The Guilfordian

The female species is subject to such cancers as ovarian, breast, and cervical. The battle against these has been fought using various medical regimens. But could the disease possibly be stopped by using a women's own body?

Recent studies have shown that women may have the ability to produce and save cancer-curing stem cells through the storing of their menstrual blood.

Cryo-Cell is a bank that is specifically dedicated to women who are interested in storing their own stem cells taken from their menstrual blood. These women would then, with the hope of medical advances, be able to use these stem cells to cure diseases such as cancer in the future. The women collect their menstrual blood with a kit containing a menstrual cup, collection tubes and a prepaid return shipment to Cryo-Cell.

According to Cryo-Cell, the menstrual stem cells that come from the womb lining shed during a woman's period, have the benefit of being easily harvested in a non-invasive manner as compared to the extraction of stem cells from bone marrow.

"Even one menstrual cycle has the potential to produce millions of stem cells," said expert Dr. Stephen Noga, director of the Cellular Therapeutics Program at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, to BBC News. "Current research is very preliminary, but given their properties, we believe these menstrual stem cells demonstrate compelling promise to transform regenerative medicine in the coming years."

Being that this procedure may be the next cure for cancer, it expectantly comes with a hefty pay tag. Cryo-Cell charges $499 for processing a year's storage of menstrual stem cells which can become quite the fortune if the stem cell freezing process were to fail and another year's worth of cells were needed.

This pricey procedure may seem too good to be true to many, including Assistant Professor of Biology Melanie Lee-Brown.

"The viability of these differentiated cells is extremely low since they are separated from the living layer and purposely shed to die," Lee-Brown said. "Sounds like a scam to me. Just another case of 'Uncle Gilbert's Magic Elixir.' You have to question why they are not offering to do it 'not for profit' to prove their theory."

Lee-Brown also discusses these issues with her class. One such student is senior Sarah Rohan.

"I have debated about these medical advances in my classes and with other students," Rohan said. "I feel that there are possibilities of producing a cure for cancer with these stem cells, but I feel that doctors are ways away from that day."

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