Information on cord blood banking.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! You may be preparing now for this very exciting new phase in your life. Also, you will definitely do anything to protect your baby and keep him healthy and happy after birth.
This is why months before the birth of your baby, you child-proof your home and spend hours of research on the safest car seat, crib, and high chair.
Essentially, you will do all it takes to keep your child safe.
Now, some parents-to-be are choosing yet another procedure that they feel can keep their little ones safe and healthy for a lifetime — cord blood banking.
The collection of cord blood is neither harmful nor painful to your newborn or yourself. It is a very simple process that we will explain later in this article. It is one that you can opt for whether you have a Cesarean section or vaginal birth.
You only get one chance to collect your baby’s cord blood at birth. Therefore, it is best to educate yourself about the process and its benefits. This way, you can make an informed decision about cord blood banking before you give birth.
We hope this article will help you in your cord blood banking decision-making process.
What is cord blood banking and cord lining banking?
The umbilical cord is the connecting lifeline between you and your baby. It connects your developing baby to your placenta, providing nutrients and removing waste.
Cord blood (or “placental blood”) is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following the birth of a baby and after cutting the umbilical cord after the delivery.
Cord blood banking is the process of storing this blood, which provides a rich source of stem cells should the need ever arise for a stem cell transplant. The stem cells in cord blood are what we call hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and are primarily responsible for replenishing blood and regenerating the immune system.
Some parents also opt to store the lining of their baby’s umbilical cord. This lining contains other forms of stem cells called Mesenchymal stem cells and Epithelial stem cells, which play a big role in the “infrastructure” formation in the human body, for instance, the formation of skin or muscle.
Your precious newborn’s cord blood and lining have the potential to protect him for life.
READ MORE:
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Anu-ano ang mga benepisyo ng cord blood banking?
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Benefits of cord blood banking
- If your baby’s cord blood is stored, he can benefit from it during his entire lifetime, should the need arise, through autologous stem cell transplant therapy.
- Stem cell transplant can also benefit another person (e.g. a sibling or a matched recipient) through allogeneic transplant therapy.
- If stem cells become urgently required for a transplant, having your child’s cord blood readily available is critically important. Unless you want to go on a national or international search, both are costly and time-consuming. The odds of finding a match in the same racial group is around one in 20,000.
Cord blood uses
The umbilical cord fluid is loaded with stem cells. These cells can treat cancer, blood diseases like anemia, and some immune system disorders. The immune system disorders will destroy and disrupt your body’s ability to defend itself.
The fluid is not complicated to collect and has 10 times more stem cells than those collected from bone marrow. Cord blood stem cells rarely carry any infectious diseases. It also treats health conditions such as:
- genetic disorders
- neurologic disorders
- some cancer types, like leukemia and lymphoma
Can you use cord blood for grandparents?
A newborn baby’s cord blood can be used by any other members of your family. These include the siblings, parents, and also, grandparents. The baby’s blood type does not necessarily need to match the grandparents’ use of cord blood.
The recipient needs to be a qualified human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match to your baby. So, the cord blood is safe to use with nothing to worry about. The matching process is similar to the process of matching an organ or bone marrow transplant.
Is cord blood banking worth it?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) do not suggest frequent banking cord blood with private banks. There is an exception of a sibling with a health condition requiring stem cells for treatment.
However, it is recommended to donate cord blood to a public bank to offer life-saving stem cells to someone in need.
Cord blood stem cells are life-saving
Cord blood stem cells are quite remarkable. They have the unique ability to transform into the following important cell types that we can find in human blood:
- Red blood cells carry oxygen to all other cells in the body
- White blood cells are crucial in fighting infections
- Platelets help with blood clotting in the event of injury
This means that cord blood stem cells’ essence is to replenish the body. These can treat several types of blood cancers, replace and regenerate damaged or diseased bone marrow, and correct genetic disorders.
In comparison to other types of stem cells (e.g. bone marrow), cord blood stem cells generate healthy blood cells faster. Therefore, it makes them more effective at treating a large number of diseases.
How a cord blood transplant works:
A patient will have stem cells added into their bloodstream. These stem cells’ task is to heal and repair damaged cells and tissue. With the successful engraftment of the stem cells, the patient’s blood and the immune system are regenerated.
Currently, more than 80 diseases — including blood cancers such as leukemia, blood disorders such as thalassemia, and tumors such as neuroblastoma—are treatable with cord blood stem cell transplant therapy. Studies show that at least 50% of childhood cancer incidences can similarly be treated.
According to research, one in every 217 persons may need stem cells for treatment in their lifetime. Since 1988, doctors around the world have used cord blood stem cells to treat more than 30,000 patients.
While stem cell research is always evolving, the potential effectiveness of treating more diseases using these stem cells is real. For example, some hospitals are currently conducting clinical trials for the treatment of autism, cerebral palsy, and hearing loss.
The same applies to cord lining stem cells and their potential to treat burns and repair the lining of corneas.
Pros and cons of cord blood banking
Stem cells from cord blood and bone marrow both generate the other blood cells. However, stem cells from cord blood can be more clinically useful than bone marrow stem cells.
Pros
Some positive views on cord blood banking are the following:
- More people can receive stem cells from cord blood than bone marrow. It is because the cord blood does not require a matching process for the recipient of the transplant, unlike bone marrow.
- There are lower chances of a person’s body rejecting the cord blood stem cells.
- Cord blood stem cells would support the immune system during treatments for cancer.
- The collection of cord blood is less complicated, painful, and risky for the donor.
- Collecting the cord blood poses no threat to the newborn or to a mother giving birth.
- Cord blood banks can freeze and store cord blood so that it is ready to use when needed.
- Donation to a public cord blood bank is free.
- Donating to public cord blood banks can save more lives.
Cons
Some disadvantages of cord blood banking can be the following:
- Cord blood does not contain many stem cells. This means that an adult recipient will need cord blood from multiple donors.
- You would have to pay for private cord blood banks which can be too costly.
- Some hospitals may charge a small fee for public collection.
- People must decide and plan for cord blood donation upfront and provide their consent before the start of labor.
- Not all hospitals can collect cord blood for public storage.
- Privately banking cord blood may not be more effective than undergoing a stem cell transplant from a stranger.
Image from | pexels.com
Some reasons not to donate cord blood
Donating cord blood is a life-saving way that anyone can do. However, there could be reasons why we won’t donate cord blood.
Cord blood banking costs vary
Even if public cord banking is free and covers all costs (collection, assessment, processing, storing), private cord blood banking can cost between $1400 to $2300.
Cord blood banking access differs
Families who store their cord blood privately, for a fee, have exclusive access to it at any time. If you decide to donate your cord blood to a public bank, its availability is unsure in the time of need.
There is no guarantee that a sick sibling will be a match
Although biological siblings have the highest probability of being a cord blood match, the National Marrow Donor Program denies this high probability with only a 25 % chance.
Republished with permission from theAsianParent Singapore
Additional information by Nathanielle Torre
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