Cord Blood Banking is one of the hottest trends that have come up in the past decade. Why is cord blood banking is popular? What is so special about the umbilical cord’s blood?
Your baby’s umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells. This stem cells work like a factory. They manufacture fresh blood cells wherever they are transplanted. They have the power to create red blood cells and the platelets that can ward off the diseases, which the patient’s current blood cells have been unable to do. You are injecting the patient with those same cells that created him!
This can be done with the bone marrow transplants too
Yes, stem cells are found in bone marrows too. However, many hurdles can affect the chances of the patient being cured considerably. The bone marrow of a leukemia patient needs to be transplanted so that new fresh blood cells are created. For this, the patient needs a donor whose tissues and cells match his own. This is at times quite hard to find. Besides, bone marrow has lesser concentration of stem cells compared to cord blood which usually 10 times more! If the patient’s stem cell cord blood was preserved, he need not have worried about a perfect donor. He himself would have been his savior!
How do I collect my baby’s umbilical cord blood?
Collecting your baby’s stem cells is quite easy. All you need to do is decide that you want to do it while you are pregnant. Yes, cord blood-banking needs planning. Register yourself at a good cord blood bank. A few tests might be done, if the doctors suspect something is not right. Collecting the umbilical cord blood does not hurt your baby. Neither does it hurt you. The blood is taken from your umbilical cord after your baby is delivered and is disconnected from the umbilical cord. The specialist drains the placenta and the umbilical cord and stores the blood in vials or special bags. The entire process usually takes 10-15 minutes. Please note that if there is any complication during the delivery, the doctors can choose not to go ahead with the process.
Is cord blood banking free?
Unfortunately, you cannot save your baby’s blood free of cost. You have to be mentally prepared to pay considerable amount on a regular basis. However, looking at the benefit your child or may be his siblings may get 20 years down the line, you can definitely think of it as an insurance premium. After all, nothing is more precious than your child’s health. You however, have the option of donating or giving for some consideration the blood to a needy patient a few years down the line when you are sure of your baby’s health.
Nevertheless, do not feel guilty if you are unable to save your baby’s stem cells through cord blood banking due to financial or other reasons. Enjoy your baby and remember that she is one of the greatest gifts you have and for you she is prefect.
Cord blood banking is the process of storing umbilical stem cell cord blood. These stem cells could be a lifesaver and used for treatment of many diseases. CordBlood-Banking.Org offers all the information you seek about process, costs and issues related to cord blood storage.
