Cord blood is the blood located within the umbilical cord after your child is born, blood that is usually thrown away. The umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells, which contribute to the development of tissues, organs and systems within the body. Thusly, the collection of your and your baby’s cord blood could help turn the tables when either your baby or another has fallen ill. There are a several ways in which umbilical cord blood can assist you or others and a number of reasons why you should consider the collection of umbilical-cord blood.
Genetically, the stem cells of cord blood are unique to the mother and child and are the building blocks of the immune system. Should the immune system of your child weaken as a result of illness, the stored cord blood can be used to regenerate the missing cells needed for her/his immune system. These cells also provide physicians with a means of treating leukemia in addition to other inherited illnesses. Cord blood also carries hematopoietic cells, cells that form blood and immune cells, which can renew themselves. Hematopoietic cells are regularly used to treat patients with cancer and other disorders that thin blood or weaken the immune system. In addition, a drug from collected cord blood is being developed by pharmaceutical Novartis AG in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Medical School that may increase the number of cells that get wiped out during chemotherapy, and help keep them in the immune system.
While it is highly recommended that you keep your baby’s cord blood, it should be noted that there is a 1 in 415 chance that she will have the need to use her own stem cells. Therefore privately banking cord blood for preventative measure may not be needed. This is a choice that cannot be determined by science and is entirely up to you. The decision to privately bank is good but also expensive. The cost of storing the blood in a blood bank in Minneapolis ranges from approximately $1000 to $2000 with a monthly rate of up to $125.
But should you choose to donate your umbilical cord blood to the American Association for Blood Banks rather than collecting it in a private bank, it can be used to serve the needs of others for which it is a match. This choice is at no cost to you and the donation could be used to save someone else’s life.