Moraga Biotechnology Corporation, an adult stem cell company based in Los Angeles, California, discovered proprietary Blastomere-Like Stem Cells (BLSCs) circulating in the peripheral blood of mammals. The company's scientists found that these adult stem cells were able to differentiate into most tissues and organs of the body.

The company's scientists have developed a proprietary and cost-effective method for isolating and purifying large numbers of its primitive embryonic-like stem cells from the blood without ex vivo expansion. Moraga recently announced that its BLSCs were found in large numbers throughout the body. The company believes this new discovery is a major breakthrough for finding large numbers of primitive adult stem cells circulating in the blood.

Moraga's chief executive, Dr. John F. Wong, noted that the ability to isolate these primitive embryonic-like stem cells in peripheral blood allows the company to enter the stem cell banking business in the near future. With this new method for isolating stem cells, the company will be able to bank an individual's stem cells by simply withdrawing a sample of their blood.

The company intends in the very near future to establish processing centres to which a donor's blood sample is shipped; the blood is processed; and, the stem cells are isolated. The BLSCs are then stored at the centre for future therapeutic and diagnostic use. Dr. Wong further stated, "By circumventing the expensive process of isolating and expanding the stem cells outside the body, the Company can now travel down a shorter path towards developing a near-term solution for autologous stem cell-based therapies, from which its BLSCs may be used for treating various forms of diseases such as heart attacks, Parkinson's disease and stroke."