Cord Blood Banking: The Pros & Cons
A huge number of umbilical cords are being thrown away every year in America after the delivery of the child. The latest researches show that the remaining blood in these umbilical cords are a great help in treating diseases like leukemia, thalessemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, aplastic anemia as well as many of the disorders related to metabolic storage.
It is a very simple process and does not harm the baby or the mother in any way. In fact both of them will not even be subjected to even an injection. After the safe delivery of the baby the umbilical cord is cut from their body. For cord blood banking, doctors can take out the blood from these umbilical cord which has already been cut from the baby. This blood is then stored so that they can be used for processing. Then they are sent to the labs for cryogenic freezing.
The blood taken out from these cords can be donated or can also be privately banked. But in case you decide to privately bank the blood, you will also have to pay for its storage charges. Most of these banks will give you the rights to use the blood but they may not be the same blood which you deposited. But if you choose to donate it then, even others with any of the diseases, which can be cured with the help of this blood, will be able to access it. If one of your family members or you need this blood and if it has already been used then you will be given the blood of a matching donor.
This cord blood matches perfectly only to the same person from whom it has come from or it will match the identical twin. Even relatives like parent, other family members or an aunt have twenty five percent probability of having a matching blood.
There are various advantages of preserving one's baby's cord blood. These are listed below.
- The other source of stem cells is bone marrow. But taking the stem cells from the bone marrow is risky as well as painful. But taking stem cells from the umbilical cord is easy and painful.
- It can help in the commencing of treatment of some of the diseases immediately giving the diseased a higher chance of survival.
- Family members have better chances of matching the stem cells of your baby. So in case if they need it sometime they will have better chances of survival.
There are various sites which only concentrate on the benefits of blood cord banking, without telling you anything about the cons. But you must consider some of the things before taking a decision.
- There are very high chances that you may never need these cord blood. So you may waste a lot of money by preserving them and then never using them.
- The family members have a better probability of matching the stem cells but still it is only twenty five percent.
- There are many other treatments for the same diseases if the stem cells are not available. But these treatments are not very effective.
- Most of the times the doctors do not use the stem cells of the baby from the same family as even they may be contaminated.
There are a huge number of National Marrow Donor Program Cord Blood Banks in US. These banks do not charge any fees for donating the Cord blood. These cord blood can be used to save people's life. You can donate at any one of them which is near to your place.
You can find these banks in various cities like California, Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Washington and various other places.
You can search for them on the internet. Some of them are listed below. Do not forget that they charge a fee.
- Life Bank
- Cord Blood Family Trust
- National Children's Leukemia Foundation
- Cryo-Cell International
It becomes easier to decide whether you want to save it or not, if someone is already suffering from one of the diseases which can be cured with the help of your baby' s stem cells. Otherwise consult your physician before taking such a step.