Comparison of MSC & EpSC Sources

Although MSCs and EpSCs can be obtained from other sources, there are many benefits of using these cells obtained from cord lining. Furthermore, other than Cordlife, all of the cord blood banks in Hong Kong only can only harvest MSCs from Wharton’s jelly. The table below illustrates some of the many benefits of stem cells obtained from cord lining compared to other sources.

Parameter	Bone Marrow	Fat	Placenta	Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly	Cord Lining
Invasiveness	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Ease of processing	No	No	No	No	Yes
High yield	No	No	No	No	Yes
MSC population	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EpSC population	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Age of stem cells	Adult	Adult	Mixed (comprise cells from mother and child)	Infant	Infant
Presence of HLA-E/HLA-G*	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

*Immunosuppressant properties