Umbilical Cord Blood Serum Eye Drops

OptiSerum Icon Umbilical Cord Blood Serum Eye Drops

OptiSerum is a biological eye drop produced from umbilical cord blood serum and is used in regenerative health to support healing of wounds on the surface of the eye. It contains naturally occurring growth factors, proteins, and vitamin A, similar to those found in natural tears.

The umbilical cord blood is collected from the placenta after delivery of the baby and once the baby is detached from the cord. The cord blood is donated voluntarily by the mother. All donors are carefully screened and tested for transmissible diseases (HIV, Hepatitis B&C, HTLV, CMV and Syphilis) during the donation process. This is done in accordance with the South African National Health Act, 2003.

What is OptiSerum?

OptiSerum contains 20% human cord blood serum diluted in BSS sterile irrigation solution and is stored at -80°C for long term storage. All samples are tested for bacterial and fungal contamination to ensure sterility of the product. No preservatives are added to the drops.

Umbilical cord blood serum has been successfully used in the treatment of ocular surface diseases and severe dry eye as it is rich in growth factors, proteins and cytokines that are crucial for corneal and conjunctival regeneration.

What Is OptiSerum?
Who Can Benefit from OptiSerum

Benefit of OptiSerum

  1. Umbilical cord blood serum has been shown to regenerate corneal and conjunctival epithelium in ocular surface disease.
  2. Contains many growth factors needed for epithelial renewal, as well as important tear components.1 It contains similar growth factors, proteins and vitamin A to tears.
  3. Possesses a bacteriostatic effect due to anti-bacterial agents such as IgG, lysozymes and complement found in the serum.1
  4. Does not contain any preservatives, and therefore, preservative toxicity can be avoided. Is readily available to patients as it is prepared in advance.
  5. Confers NO immunogenicity and is particularly useful in patients with autoimmune diseases and those with poor general health.
  6. Found to be more effective than autologous serum eye drops in healing epithelial defects, as cord blood serum contains 2-3 times higher levels of growth factors.3,4

Advantages of OptiSerum vs Autologous Serum

OptiSerum umbilical cord blood serum eye drops are clinically superior to the autologous serum eye drops in healing epithelial defects as it contains 2-3 times higher levels of growth factors.

OptiSerum Autologous Serum
It is possible to obtain a large amount of umbilical cord serum at one time from donated placenta
Serum can be used in many patients
OptiSerum can be used for patients with poor general condition
Blood collection is required repeatedly from patients to obtain fresh serum, which may lead to discomfort and treatment refusal
The process to make serum eye drops is complex and time consuming for patients
Blood sampling is difficult to do in patients with a poor general condition or blood dyscrasia

Growth Factors

Growth
Factors 		Full Name Umbilical Cord
Serum (pg/ml) 		Autologous
Serum (pg/ml) 		Fold increase in
Umbilical Cord
Serum
EGF Epidermal growth factor 831.4 316.3 2.6
TGF-α Transforming growth factor-a 54.6 11.1 4.9
FGF Fibroblast growth factor 23.0 0.8 28.7
PDGF Platelet-derived growth factor 3233.2 1575.4 2
VEGF Vascular endothelial growth factor 246.0 58.4 4.2
NGF Nerve growth factor 0.8 0.03 26.7

Indications of OptiSerum include:

  • Severe dry eye, with or without primary Sjörgen’s syndrome
  • Persistent epithelial defects
  • Recurrent corneal erosions
  • Chemical burns
  • Neurotrophic keratitis
  • Post LASEK surgery
  • Post corneal transplant

Collection

Umbilical cord blood donations are collected during the birthing process in accordance the National Health Act of South Africa. All donors complete a health questionnaire and are screened for transmissible diseases.

All cord blood serum batches are tested during processing for bacterial and fungal contamination and to ensure sterility of the product.

Packaging

Umbilical cord blood serum is packaged in sterile 3ml and 4,5ml dropper bottles and frozen to -80°C.

Storage

OptiSerum can be stored as follows until time of use

Home freezer
(-20°C) 		Twelve months from date of manufacture or within expiry date printed on the bottle label.
Home refrigerator
(4-10°C) 		Use within 7 days of opening/thawing.
Ensure that product is stored in original packaging.
DO NOT use after expiry date stated on the packaging.
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References

  1. Dua HS, Gomes JA., King AJ, Maharajan VS. The amniotic membrane in ophthalmology. Survey of Ophthalmology. 2004 Jan;49(1):51–77.
  2. Ahn J-I, Jang I-K, Lee D-H, Seo Y-K, Yoon H-H, Shin Y-H, et al. A comparison of lyophilized amniotic membrane with cryopreserved amniotic membrane for the reconstruction of rabbit corneal epithelium. Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering. 2005;10(3):262–9.
  3. Baradaran-Rafii A, Aghayan H-R, Arjmand B, Javadi M-A. Amniotic membrane transplantation. Journal of Ophthalmic & Vision Research. 2008;2(1):58–75.
  4. Hao Y, Ma DH-K, Hwang DG, Kim W-S, Zhang F. Identification of antiangiogenic and antiinflammatory proteins in human amniotic membrane. Cornea. 2000;19(3):348–52.