Cord Blood Banking Provides a Unique Opportunity
More and more expecting parents are taking a serious look at cord blood and cord tissue banking than ever before. When you consider the expanding potential it’s not hard to understand why this has happened.
What Makes Cord Blood Special
To understand the value in banking cord blood, you first need to understand the value of the blood itself. Cord blood contains a high concentration of a very special material – stem cells. Those stem cells have a very important role to play in the growth and development of the baby while in the womb.
Stem cells do all the heavy lifting when it comes to the development of your baby. Stem cells are what produce all the different tissues, organs, and blood vessels.
Unfortunately, the value of those powerful cells has been lost – the cord is largely treated as medical waste and thrown away following birth. This means a complete loss of those remarkable stem cells.
Even Greater Potential from Stem Cells
Modern medicine has seen a surge in the field of regenerative medicine thanks to a better understanding of stem cells. Scientists identified over the past 20-years that the stem cells discarded as waste may in fact hold even more potential by treating various diseases.
Cord blood stem cells have been proven to be a viable solution in the treatment of an ever-growing list of diseases and health conditions. It’s been shown to be especially effective at treating blood-borne diseases as well as many immune system disorders.
What’s great about cord blood is that it doesn’t come from an embryo and has no controversy or ethical dilemma tied to its collection.
How Does Cord Blood Banking Work
The collection of cord blood is done by your medical staff following the delivery of your baby. In fact, your healthcare provider isn’t required to make any changes to their birthing procedure which means there is no risk to the mom or baby.
Once the blood has been gathered using the kit we provide, it is sent to our lab for processing and storage.
Researchers believe that cord blood and cord tissue can be stored indefinitely using modern cryogenic techniques. This means that the blood would still be viable and available should you need it for treatment years from now.
Who Should Consider Cord Blood Storage
Virtually any expecting parent should at least pause to consider the collection and banking of their baby’s cord blood. That said, there are several circumstances where storage is more highly recommended.
- Family history of cancer
- Family history of blood-borne diseases.
- Family history of immune deficiencies.
- Family with ethnic or mixed ethnic backgrounds.
Other Considerations
Cord blood research is an ever-evolving field and the potential can still exist where a banked sample would not be appropriate for use in a treatment. Specifically, it would not be appropriate to use a sample for the treatment of a genetic blood disorder where the stored blood carries the same genetic material.
Ongoing developments and research can be a lot to take in as you consider this important decision. Feel free to give Securacell a call and our team of healthcare professionals can help talk you through the benefits of this once in a lifetime decision.
