Isolation and expansion of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells from umbilical cord under chemically defined conditions

From a perspective of manufacturer, procurement of bone marrow aspirates for isolation of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) is challenging. The MSC isolated from adult donors have lower proliferation capacity than the cells isolated form young donors of pediatric age. To obtain more MSC from young healthy donors for allogeneic therapy on multiple patients, umbilical cord (UC) seems to be the best alternative. Here, we describe an easy, cost-effective and reproducible protocol of isolation of the MSC from Wharton's Jelly (WJ) in UC.