The popularity of Cord blood banking is increasing day by day. Medical science has revealed many benefits of umbilical cord and placenta that were earlier thrown away after delivery. Stem cells obtained through cord blood are medically more useful than the stem cells obtained from bone marrow and can save lives. Scientists believe that many benefits of cord blood cells are still unknown and research is underway.

What is cord blood banking?

Post-delivery, the blood that remains inside the umbilical cord and placenta is known as cord blood. This cord blood can be collected to be used medically later on. Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells because a maternal-fetal transfer of cells takes place to boost immunity at the time of labor. While harvesting the cord blood, efforts are made to reduce the volume of red blood cells so that the collected sample is highly rich in stem cells. Due to this reason, the process is also referred to as stem cell banking.

There was a time when umbilical cord blood was considered medical waste. But today the process of banking this blood is increasing. More and more people are realizing that their baby’s cord blood can treat life-threatening and debilitating diseases. The collection process is harmless and pain-free for both the mother and the baby. We must encourage more and more expecting parents to plan to bank their baby’s cord blood. If you are expecting, you should talk to your doctor and plan to affordable cord blood bank 19.99/month.

How does cord blood help in treating diseases?

Cord blood contains stem cells and immune system cells. These cells are present in abundance that makes cord blood of great medical usage. It acts as a regenerative medicine because it helps a patient’s body to regenerate tissues and systems. Cord blood has been successfully used more than 35,000 times across the globe for treating diseases. At present, the FDA has approved its usage for treating around 80 diseases that include lymphoma, leukemia, anemias, solid tumors, inherited metabolic disorders, orthopedic repair, etc. More research will reveal many more medical uses of cord blood.

Medical professionals are researching the ability of cord blood to cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce inflammation. The success of this theory will lead to treating conditions like autism, cerebral palsy, and Alzheimer’s that are untreatable to this point.

Stem cells are also obtained from bone marrow. But stem cell transfer is much easier through cord blood. The level of genetic matching that is required to be done in a bone marrow transplant is extremely high. Also, the chances of a patient’s body rejecting stem cells through bone marrow are more than rejecting cord blood. Cord blood is stored cryogenically and is always available for treatment. This makes sure that a patient can get access to it even in case of an emergency. Bone marrow can not be obtained on such an urgent basis.

Benefits of cord blood banking for the entire family

Our body’s immune system is built to eliminate foreign particles that it believes are contaminants. Therefore, we can not transfer any immune system cells to a body. Any type of stem cell transfusion can lead to the immune system attacking its own body. This is known as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and can affect a patient post-transplant. GvHD can be acute or chronic and can also lead to death.

Stem cells matching is done before being transferred to a body to prevent GvHD and also to ensure engraftment. Depending on the person being treated, a certain level of matching needs to be done. Your baby’s cord blood will always be a match for him or her. The immediate family members are also highly likely to be a match for the baby’s umbilical cord blood. Siblings can be a 25% perfect match and 50% partial match. Parents have a probability of being a 100% partial match. Even your extended family members like aunt, grandparents, and uncle can benefit from your baby’s umbilical cord blood. If anyone in your family has a disease that may require cord blood for treatment, you must plan for cord blood banking.