What Is Cord Blood Banking?
The process of storing blood from the umbilical cord seems like a reasonably new one, but it has actually been around for decades. So what exactly is cord blood banking? It is the process of taking the blood from the umbilical cord when a baby is born and storing that blood in a blood bank until such time that it is needed.
You have the option of storing cord blood either for public use or private use. When people donate cord blood for public use, they are giving someone else the opportunity to use those life saving cells. The procedure for collecting cord blood is done as soon as the baby is born and it painless for both the baby and mother.
What is cord blood banking?
Cord blood contains precious stem cells that are so important for treating certain diseases. When cells in the body become damaged or no longer viable, by transplanting cells from cord blood, they can replace the damaged or dead cells allowing the person to fight the disease.
Stem cells that are found in cord blood are like a master key for the human body. Using this master key they can replace bad cells that no longer work or cells that have been invaded by cancer. If a person develops a disease such as leukemia, their best chance at fighting and beating that disease is by using the cells from cord blood.
There are two different approaches to cord blood banking with the first being to bank cord blood privately. The cord blood is collected when the baby is born and is then stored in a cord blood bank specifically for future use by that child.
For private cord blood banking there is an initial fee for collecting and processing the cord blood and then there is an annual fee for storage of the blood. This private cord blood is not available to be used by the general public but is stored solely for use by the family that supplied the blood.
The second option is to store cord blood at a public cord blood bank. By donating cord blood publicly the blood cells are then available to be used by anyone that can benefit from them. The blood goes into a registry and is then given to anyone that is a match and that requires treatment using cord blood cells. Donated cord blood has helped thousands of people to fight and beat blood related diseases.
As the process of collecting and storing cord blood is painless there really is no reason not to do it. If you don’t feel the need to bank cord blood privately then why not donate it publicly. The blood in your baby’s umbilical cord has the potential to save lives so don’t let it go to waste.
According to doctors there is a 1 in 217 chance of needing cord blood and although those odds are generally quite good, you just never know if your child might fall into the category of those that need this type of treatment. If your child does develop a blood disease at some stage in his life, it is best to be prepared and have the best possible treatment available for him. Cord blood banking could save your childs life!
