Finding a cord blood bank
in your area.

Cord blood.

Cord blood is one of the richest sources of stem cells available to us and using a cord blood bank to store your baby's blood could save his or her life in the future. There is still controversy surrounding the banking of cord blood, many feel that it is unfair that some parents can afford to bank cord blood only to be used by their own children, but it is difficult to find any arguments against the donation of cord blood.

Taking cord blood.

The procedure to remove this blood is entirely painless. Embryonic stem cell research has virtually stopped because of the controversy surrounding the extraction of the stem cell. When the stem cell is removed from an embryo, that embryo dies; a step too far in a majority of people's eyes. There will certainly always be debate over the therapeutic cloning methods and Woo Suk Hwang and stem cells used in this manner.

Bank or donate?

There are two options concerning cord blood; you can either donate the blood or you can bank it for the use of your child or immediate family. The donation of cord blood is entirely free and the process will be completed for you. Not all donations can be stored and used, however, and the main reason that donations are not used is because there is not enough blood produced from the cord and the placenta. This is because there are very few sites that have the capability to cryogenically store the blood, meaning that they can afford to be choosy over the donations they accept. However, as stem cell research continues it is likely that the number of centers across the country will increase to meet the demand.

That leaves us with cord blood banking. This enables you to store the blood extracted from your child's blood cord in case he or she requires it in future life. This procedure isn't free and for extraction and storage for approximately 15 years you will be looking to pay between $2500 and $3000. The price you do pay will be dependent on whether you choose to pay up front or on an annual basis and also the organization you decide to use. There are a growing number of organizations who can effectively store cord blood and many of them are also active in the process of developing new techniques and conducting thorough medical research on various diseases.

Finding a cord blood bank.

One such organization is Viacord. There website indicates that there is now a 1 in 100 chance that children born today have a 1 in 100 chance of contracting a disease that is treatable with cord blood by the time they reach the age of 50. While this seems an alarmingly high number, you should be aware that at present no cord blood bank has the capability to store cord blood for longer than about 15 years and still ensure the blood's potency. However, further research will undoubtedly turn up ways that allows any cord blood bank to store cord blood for longer periods of time.

Potential uses of stem cells taken from cord blood.

Recent testing has shown that problems such as congenital heart failure and even strokes may be treated using stem cells and if this is the case then there will be a one in two chance that a newborn baby will be diagnosed before the age of 50 with a disease that could be treated with stem cells from their cord blood. At present there are over 40 life threatening diseases on an ever growing list of cures. This number will continue to rise as more and more research is completed. Already, in many cases of cancer where it has previously been necessary to use chemotherapy or Tretinoin stem cells can already play a huge part in the recovery of the patient.

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