Type I Collagen
Gives tissue its strength, and makes up more than 90% of the collagen in the human body.
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Stem Cells
Stem cell programs,built around how you want to live.
Physician-guided Wharton’s jelly and exosome programs in River Oaks, chosen by patients to support recovery, mobility and vitality, with every vial sourced and documented.
What It Is
Know exactlywhat you receive.
Biologics come in two kinds. Autologous biologics come from your own body. Allogeneic biologics come from a donor. Wharton’s jelly is allogeneic, and it belongs to the same federal category as other donated human tissue, from skin and corneas to heart valves. The FDA calls this category human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products.
Held to federal tissue standards.
The FDA oversees donated tissue with a risk-based framework. Tissue labs register with the agency, screen and test every donor, and follow federal tissue rules. Valere works only with labs that meet every one of those standards.
Plain Definitions
Stem Cells
The term most people use for this category. At Valere in River Oaks, Houston, it refers to Wharton’s jelly and exosome products from umbilical cord sources.
Wharton’s Jelly
The soft connective tissue inside the umbilical cord, rich in type I and type III collagen and hyaluronic acid.
Exosomes
Tiny particles that cells release to carry proteins and genetic material to other cells. Exosomes are not cells.
Allogeneic
From a donor. Autologous means from your own body.
The Building Blocks
Think aboutbone.
Bone is living tissue that your body rebuilds all the time, using building blocks such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. Those nutrients do not do the rebuilding. Your body does the work. And each one matters, because one without the others is an incomplete set.
Connective tissue has building blocks too. Three stand out.
Type III Collagen
Works alongside type I in tissues that need to stretch and recoil, such as skin and blood vessels.
Hyaluronic Acid
Holds large amounts of water, keeping tissue hydrated and helping it handle physical stress.
Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements on calcium and magnesium; StatPearls on collagen; PNAS on type III collagen; a published review on hyaluronic acid.
The Tissue
Wharton’s jellycarries all three.
Wharton’s jelly is the soft connective tissue inside the umbilical cord, and its job is mechanical. As a baby twists, turns and kicks in the womb, it cushions the cord’s three blood vessels and protects them from being compressed, twisted or bent. It does that job with type I collagen, type III collagen and hyaluronic acid.
Inside the Umbilical Cord
Two arteries, one vein, and the tissue that cushions them.
Wharton’s jelly surrounds all three vessels. Its collagen gives the cord its structure, and its hyaluronic acid holds water, which gives the tissue its soft, jelly-like consistency. Its role in the cord is described in published research.
Held to a Higher Standard
Every vial.Documented.
Every vial comes from an umbilical cord donated after birth, from a donor whose history is screened and who is tested for communicable diseases by a CLIA-certified laboratory registered with the FDA.
Donated after birth
Umbilical cord tissue, recovered by FDA-registered tissue recovery partners.
Donor history screened
Each donor’s medical and social history is reviewed before donation.
Disease testing
Communicable disease testing by a CLIA-certified laboratory registered with the FDA.
Sterility testing
Samples from every lot tested by a third-party laboratory, with the lot held until results are in.
Lot traceability
Every vial is labeled with its lot, so it can be traced.
AATB guidelines
Processing follows the tissue banking guidelines of the AATB.
FDA-registered labs
Products come from labs registered with the FDA.
Batch-verified
Documentation arrives with every vial.
Each vial is labeled for traceability and used once. Any unused portion is discarded.
Guidelines are published by AATB, the Association for Advancing Tissue and Biologics. Federal tissue rules are defined at 21 CFR Part 1271. FDA registration is a facility standard, not a product approval.
What Research Is Exploring
A fast-moving field.Followed closely.
Wharton’s jelly, and the cells and particles that come from it, are one of the most active areas in regenerative research. Here is what that work focuses on, and why patients choose these programs to support how their bodies respond.
Cell signaling
Much of the research looks at the proteins and growth factors that mesenchymal stromal cells release, and how those signals reach the cells around them.
The immune response
Researchers study how these cells and their signals interact with the immune system, including the body’s inflammatory response. It is one of the most closely followed areas in the field.
The support structure
Studies examine how the collagen and hyaluronic acid in Wharton’s jelly behave as part of the extracellular matrix, the scaffold that surrounds and supports cells.
Exosome messengers
Exosomes are studied as one of the ways cells pass proteins and genetic material to one another, and what that exchange means for how tissue responds.
The areas above describe published research. Further reading: a published review of Wharton’s jelly; a published review of exosome biology.
How It Works With the Rest
One program.Sequenced around you.
A stem cell program works best as part of a whole. It sits inside one personalized protocol, and your assessment sets what runs alongside it, and in what order.
Recovery
Peptides
Short chains of amino acids, many of the body’s own signaling molecules, dosed inside your protocol.
Explore Peptides
Hormones
HRT & TRT
Testosterone for men, bioidentical hormones for women, with thyroid and cortisol markers reviewed alongside.
Explore HRT & TRT
Metabolic health
Weight Loss
GLP-1 medications as one component. Body composition is governed by the hormonal and metabolic environment.
Explore Weight Loss
Skin & hair
Aesthetics
Exosome skin and hair programs delivered through microneedling.
Explore AestheticsNutrition, exercise, coaching, hormone optimization, peptide support, and supplement support are assessed alongside every program here.
See how a program is builtBecause knowing exactly what you receive is part of feeling confident in your care. We can show you what this tissue is, where it comes from and how every vial is documented. Your physician then designs a program around your goals at your in-depth evaluation, so what you receive is built for you.
Each vial is labeled for traceability, stored according to the supplier’s requirements until it is used, and used once. Any unused portion is discarded.
Verifiable sourcing. You can know where the tissue comes from, that the lab is registered with the FDA, and that every vial arrives with its documentation. At Valere, each of those answers is on file and available to you.
Wharton’s jelly and exosome products are investigational and not FDA approved to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Candidacy is determined by physician evaluation. Individual results vary. This page is educational and does not constitute medical advice.
Know where your cellscome from.
Your assessment is an in-depth, unhurried evaluation. Your physician designs a stem cell program around your goals, sequenced with everything else in your plan.
Private · By appointment only · River Oaks, Houston