A couple who are expecting their first child has been advised by friends to consider harvesting umbilical cord blood in order to have a future source of stem cells. The couple has approached their caregiver with this request and is seeking clarification of exactly why stem cells are valuable and what they might expect to gain from harvesting them. How can their caregiver best respond to the couple's enquiry? Stem cells can:

Be used as source of reserve cells for the entire blood production system.

Explanation:

Stem cells can be described as special human cells that are capable of developing into many different cell types ranging from brain cells to muscle cells. They act like renewable source of replacement cells for treating diseases.

In this case, the proliferative potential and self-renewal of stem cells makes them a compensatory mechanism and reserve source for the entire hematopoietic system. While they could be of possible use in certain autoimmune conditions or in cases of organ failure, these statements do not capture their essence.

It should be noted that, hematopoietic system is the system comprising the organs that are involved in the production of components of blood. And this is the major reason why the couple should engage in the act after consulting the caregiver.