What is the Cord Blood Bank?

Cord blood bank storage is a process in which vital stem cells are collected from the umbilical cord and placenta and stored for future use. Stem cells are immature cells that can take the form of other cells.

There are so many things to think about when you ha2022-01-25ve a child. One of them remains blood from your baby’s umbilical cord (which connects the baby to the mother in the womb). Previously, it was discarded at birth, but today many parents save the blood for the future health of their child. should you

What Can it Be Used For?

The fluid from the umbilical cord is loaded with stem cells. They can treat cancer, blood disorders such as anaemia, and certain immune system disorders that affect the body’s ability to defend itself.

The liquid is easy to extract and contains ten times more stem cells than those extracted from bone marrow.

How did you Get It?

If you want the blood to be saved after birth, the doctor clamps the umbilical cord in two places about 10 inches apart and cuts the umbilical cord, separating the mother from the baby. Then they insert a needle and take at least 40 milliliters of blood from the umbilical cord. The blood remains sealed in a bag and sent to a cord blood bank or laboratory for analysis and storage. The process only takes short minutes and is effortless for mother and child.

The umbilical cord blood bank can also send tubes so that the mother’s blood can also be collected. If so, the banking kit will include instructions with the blood collection tubes.

Where is it Stored?

There are three Options:

Public cable companies do not charge for storage. Therefore, each donation is accessible to anyone who needs it. The bank may also use donated cord blood for research purposes.

Private (commercial) cord banks store donated blood for the sole use of the donor and their family. They can be expensive. These banks charge processing fees and annual storage fees.

The American University of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) neither recommends nor advises against storing cord blood. But along with the AAP and AMA, he warns parents against private cord blood banks. Therefore:

  • The costs of collection and storage in private cord blood banks are high.
  • There may be other less expensive effective treatments.
  • The possibility of your child using cord blood stored in a private bank is minimal.

A stem cell transplant using a person’s umbilical cord blood (known as an autologous transplant) cannot be used for genetic disorders such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia because the genetic mutations that cause these disorders are present in the baby’s umbilical cord blood. In addition, other conditions that can be treated with a stem cell transplant, such as leukemia, may also be present in a baby’s cord blood.

Due to these limitations and the rarity of diseases treated with stem cell transplantation, over 400 autologous cord blood transplants have been performed in the United States over the past two decades. In contrast, more than 60,000 cord blood transplants from unrelated donors have been performed worldwide.

Should you Save your Baby’s Cord Blood?

It depends on who you ask. Although commercial cord blood banks often charge for their services as “biological insurance” against future illnesses, the blood is rarely used. A study indicates that the chance of a child using cord blood in their lifetime is 1 in 400 to 1 in 200,000.

What the Future Holds

Nobody knows how stem cells will be used in the future. Still, researchers hope to treat many diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart failure, spinal cord injury, and others.

It is possible that storing your child’s cord blood cells will one day be helpful in the fight against these diseases. But, for now, these treatments are just theories. It is also unclear whether stem cells from cord blood, as opposed to stem cells from other sources, will be helpful in these potential treatments.

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