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The many and varied medical uses of the placenta

March 09, 2026 4 min read Science & Technology GS Paper 3 (Science & Technology)
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What Happened

  • Research and clinical application of placental tissue — long discarded as medical waste — is expanding rapidly into regenerative medicine, wound healing, and stem cell therapy.
  • Placental-derived biomaterials are increasingly used as allografts for chronic wound management, including diabetic ulcers and venous leg ulcers.
  • Several FDA-approved products derived from amniotic membrane and umbilical cord tissue are now in clinical use globally, with hundreds of clinical trials underway for broader therapeutic applications.
  • Scientists are investigating placental mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating neurological, cardiac, orthopaedic, and gastrointestinal conditions in preclinical models.
  • The emerging field challenges conventional views of the placenta as disposable and raises ethical, regulatory, and policy questions around tissue banking and informed consent.

Static Topic Bridges

Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation into specialised cell types. The placenta is an exceptionally rich source of stem cells — including placental mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs), haematopoietic stem cells, and amniotic epithelial cells — that can be harvested without the ethical controversies surrounding embryonic stem cells.

  • Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs): multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle cells; also exhibit immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Amniotic membrane (innermost layer of the placenta/fetal membranes) contains MSCs and epithelial cells and has been used in ophthalmology (corneal repair), wound care, and orthopaedics.
  • Placental-derived biomaterials possess biocompatibility, biodegradability, angiogenic (blood vessel formation), anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifibrotic, and immune-privileged properties.
  • Immune privilege means placental tissue can be transplanted without the full histocompatibility matching typically required, reducing rejection risk.
  • India's regulatory framework for stem cell research is governed by guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT); the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and its amendments regulate cell and tissue-based products.

Connection to this news: The placenta's immune-privileged, multi-lineage stem cells make it an attractive off-the-shelf source for regenerative therapies without the ethical controversy of embryonic stem cell research.

Amniotic Membrane Transplantation (AMT) and Wound Care

Amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) is a well-established therapeutic modality in which the innermost layer of the fetal membrane is used as a biological scaffold to promote tissue regeneration. It modulates inflammation, reduces scar formation, provides a basement membrane matrix for cell migration, and releases growth factors that accelerate healing.

  • Commercial products in clinical use: EpiFix® (MiMedx Group) — dehydrated amnion/chorion membrane allograft for chronic ulcers; NEOX® (Amniox Medical) — cryopreserved amniotic membrane + umbilical cord composite for difficult dermal ulcers.
  • Amniotic membrane has been used in ophthalmology since the 1940s; modern applications in wound care expanded from the 1990s.
  • The amniotic membrane contains collagen types IV, V, and VII, fibronectin, laminin, and proteoglycans — all key extracellular matrix (ECM) components supporting tissue repair.
  • Chronic non-healing wounds — including diabetic foot ulcers — affect approximately 40 million people globally; placental allografts offer cost-effective alternatives to expensive growth factor therapies.

Connection to this news: Growing clinical evidence is pushing placental biomaterials from experimental to mainstream wound care, with implications for India's diabetes burden (over 101 million diabetics as of 2023) and the management of chronic non-healing wounds.

Ethical and Policy Dimensions of Biobanking

The medical use of placental tissue raises important questions around bioethical consent, tissue banking infrastructure, and equitable access. In India, placenta has traditionally been disposed of post-delivery, but cord blood banking (storing umbilical cord blood stem cells) has grown commercially.

  • Informed consent: Mothers must consent to placental tissue donation/banking separately from childbirth consent — a principle embedded in ICMR's Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research Involving Human Participants (2017).
  • The ICMR issued National Guidelines for Stem Cell Research in 2017 (revised from 2013 guidelines), covering permissible and prohibited uses of various stem cell types.
  • Cord blood banks in India operate under Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) licensing; the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules 2017 brought stem cell products under regulatory oversight.
  • Equity concern: Private placental/cord blood banking (for family use) is expensive and largely inaccessible; public banking (donating to a shared registry) is the ethically and economically preferred model for population-level benefit.

Connection to this news: As placental medicine scales up, India needs robust public tissue banking infrastructure and standardised regulatory frameworks to translate the science into equitable health outcomes.

Key Facts & Data

  • India has over 101 million diabetics (2023 IDF estimates) — one of the largest populations at risk for chronic wounds where placental allografts are being applied
  • ICMR's National Guidelines for Stem Cell Research last revised in 2017
  • Amniotic membrane contains collagen types IV, V, VII; fibronectin; laminin — key wound-healing matrix proteins
  • Immune privilege of placental tissue reduces allograft rejection risk without full HLA matching
  • EpiFix® and NEOX® are among FDA-approved placental allograft wound-care products
  • Hundreds of clinical trials globally are investigating placental MSCs for neurological, cardiac, and orthopaedic indications
  • The Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Rules, 2017 brought cell and tissue-based products under DCGI regulation in India