Menstrual blood collection and stem cell extraction
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparing sanitary pads, tampons, and menstrual cups for menstrual blood collection and stem cell extraction
IRAS ID
301566
Contact name
Philip Breedon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottingham Trent University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Stem cells are cells in the body that can change into a huge range of cell types, including bone, muscle, and nerve. This versatility allows tissue to regenerate and overcome disease, and these cells can be transplanted into patients for treatment, such as a bone marrow transplant to treat someone with leukaemia.
Menstrual (period) blood contains stem cells similar to those found in bone marrow or umbilical cord blood. Therefore, the waste blood that women routinely dispose of every month has the potential to be used instead for cell therapy. Exciting research into the potential treatments using menstrual blood-derived cell therapy includes liver failure, spinal cord injury, heart attack, and stroke. However, if women are not willing to donate their menstrual blood, then why research further?
This research is focussing on the heart of menstrual blood-derived cell therapy donation: the women donating menstrual blood in the first place. Currently, a common donation procedure is for women to use a menstrual cup. However, only 4% of women currently use one, with most women using a tampon or a sanitary pad. Therefore, research must be done to understand whether a tampon or sanitary pad are effective methods to collect menstrual blood for cell therapy. This research is the first comparison of menstrual blood donation techniques, comparing tampons, sanitary pads, and menstrual cups. We will see which methods are suitable within the lab, and also suitable for women. Women's age and factors such as history of birth will also be analysed to investigate whether this influences the cells. This work aims to improve women’s health as other benefits arise from the easy collection of menstrual blood samples, as well as to increase and improve accessibility to stem cell therapy globally.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0266
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion