Cord blood banking is a relatively
new phenomenon in medicine. Umbilical cord blood, harvested from
the newborn, is a rich source of stem cells. Stem cells provide
the building blocks of the body's immune system, and cord blood
banking allows the family to bank these rich stem cells for use
in the future. The baby itself, the baby's parents, or the
baby's siblings may benefit long-term from cord blood banking,
and finding a cord blood bank is a crucial part of preserving umbilical
cord blood.
Why is cord blood banking so popular?
In recent years, researchers have been able to save cord blood and
retrieve it from a cord blood bank to be used to repair damaged
immune systems, help chemotherapy patients to overcome cancer, and
to help produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
When the baby is born, while the umbilical
cord is still attached to the placenta, an obstetrician, certified
nurse midwife, or labor and delivery nurse cleans a section of the
umbilical cord, usually about six inches, and then inserts a needle
into the cord, connected to a blood storage bag. When the bag is
full, or when the area is drained, between three and five ounces
of blood have been collected. The blood bag is then sealed and delivered
to a cord blood bank, a storage facility that specializes solely
in storing the umbilical cord blood for a predetermined fee.
A cord blood bank will charge parents
anywhere from $600 to $1800 for the basic retrieval of the cord
blood at birth, plus processing. Once the newly-harvested cord blood
has been delivered to the storage site, a laboratory technician
extracts stem cells from the cord blood and they are cryogenically
preserved, frozen to be used as needed. The initial fee parents
pay is not covered by insurance, and in addition to the fee, an
annual storage fee that averages $100 per year must be paid as well.
The American Association of Blood
Banks provides accreditation to some cord blood banks; consumers
should do their research when seeking out cord blood bank services.
The first stem cell transplant took place in 1988; over the past
nineteen years more than 3,000 stem cell transplants have been completed.
Cord blood bank deposits help these patients, and increasing numbers
of parents are choosing cord blood bank programs to prepare for
the unknown.
Recently, cord blood banks have been
appearing all over the world as more and more parents realize the
benefits of saving this precious resource. However, there are still
many mothers and fathers who fail to understand why cord blood should
be saved.
The blood cells that are contained
within the umbilical cord of an unborn child are stem cells. You
have no doubt heard about all the controversy surrounding stem cells
these days, but the ones in the umbilical cord blood are 100% your
child's, so there is no public dispute over them. These stem
cells can be saved in a special cord blood bank as insurance against
future problems or certain diseases that your child may develop.
Stem cells are the building blocks
of both our immune system and our circulatory system. This means
that they can be used to cure just about any disease that affects
these two systems, relieving discomfort or even saving a life. However,
new studies have shown that stem cells can actually replace damaged
cells in other areas of the body as well, including the liver, heart
and kidneys.
Cord blood provides the stem cells
necessary to cure a multitude of diseases, including leukemia, Hodgkin's
lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and many other forms of cancer
which affect both adults and children. Stem cells can also repair
the damage done by bone marrow diseases like severe aplastic anemia,
as well as blood and immune system disorders. Metabolism problems
such as Hurler syndrome, Lesch-Nyman disease and many others are
also treatable with cord blood stem cells. The list of diseases
that stem cells can cure is constantly growing as scientists make
new discoveries.
While there is no guarantee that you
will need the cord blood that you bank, do you really want to risk
your child's life? Also, there is a good possibility that the
stem cells from one family member will match another, so if you
have the banked cord blood of your youngest child and the oldest
becomes ill, those precious stem cells could save the life of your
older child.
Many families have been able to use
the miracle of cord blood and they will be forever grateful that
they made the investment and saved the stem cells from their child's
umbilical cord! So, with your next baby, why not consider giving
the gift of life twice and banking that cord blood?
