A guide to blood cord
banking.

What are blood stem cells?

Blood cord banking is becoming a much more utilized commodity for many parents wanting to improve their children's future care, but it is important that you know all the facts and figures before proceeding. Previously the only way for doctors and hospitals to obtain blood stem cells was through a bone marrow donation made by a matching donor. Unfortunately, though, only half of the people who require these donations are ever able to find an appropriate donor while the remaining patients are left with no other method of treatment.

Blood stem cells are found in bone marrow and are responsible for creating blood. Recent studies have shown, however, that these blood stem cells are also present in the umbilical cord of newborn children. A perfect match needs to be found to give patients a greater chance of success during transplants. It makes sense, therefore, that the storage and potential future use of the blood stem cells found in your own umbilical cord gives you a vastly improved chance of success, and you will always have a viable donor at hand. The blood stem cells found in umbilical cord blood are even more primitive that those in bone marrow so have greater uses and have especially been linked with regenerating a patient's immune system.

Is it safe?

Possibly the first question on most parent's lips is whether the removal of the blood stem cells from a newborn baby's umbilical cord will cause any damage. The answer is that the removal of the stem cells from the umbilical cord is a relatively straightforward and entirely harmless procedure that does not put either mother or baby at risk in any way. This is probably the big pro of stem cells and their removal for storage.

What can you do with stem cells?

This is a question that has sparked years of stem cell and umbilical cord research in many institutions across various different countries. The list of possible uses for blood stem cells is growing on a very regular basis as more clinical trials and further research is conducted. There are already a respectable list of diseases that can be treated with blood stem cells, some of them fatal, and an even longer list of treatments that are currently being researched or are under experimental trial. Cancers such as leukemia use transplants as their primary source of treatment and blood stem cells from umbilical cords are an excellent resource.

Future uses of blood cord banking.

There is currently a long list of potential uses that are being investigated either through clinical trials or with experimental treatments. Using the blood stem cells out of a patient's umbilical cord is under clinical trial for patients who are suffering from breast cancer and things are looking positive for this and a large number of other deadly diseases. Essentially any disease that can be treated through a transplant in bone marrow should also be treatable using the stem cells found in the umbilical cord.

Some pros and cons of blood cord banking.

As with any breakthrough treatment there are always cons as well as pros, and the same is true of blood cord banking. The storage of the blood and, therefore, the blood stem cells is more costly than using a bone marrow transplant. With a bone marrow transplant, the bone marrow does not need to be stored but this does mean patients can be put on a long waiting list while a suitable donor is located and the transplant is arranged. Umbilical cord blood needs to be frozen and stored in a blood cord bank, often for many years at a time and it is the responsibility of the parent to find a suitable bank and to pay the storage fees. However, if your child does ever need a blood stem cell transplant there will be no waiting list and the transplant can be completed almost immediately.

Conclusion on blood cord banking.

Blood cord banking is a possibility that many parents have already turned to, and by doing so you could be providing your child or children with the future treatment they require for some fatal diseases. It is also obvious that it holds the key to curing a number of other diseases and it seems it is only a matter of time before it becomes much more standard practice to take umbilical cord blood from babies as they are born.

More