Cord Blood Banking Benefits

Cord Blood Banking Benefits. What are the advantages of cord blood banking? Our friend Thomas raised this question after he read the post on the cord blood banking of Australian Stem Cell Healthcare.

We told him that cord blood would be useful in fighting diseases that a child might have in the future but Thomas wants “specifics”. He goes, “What exactly are these diseases that a child would have to fight with cord blood?”

Thankfully, in his column at The Star Press, Dr. Joseph B. Landwehr Jr., director of maternal-fetal medicine at the Perinatal Center at Ball Memorial Hospital, has a more specific answer to our doubting Thomas:

Q. What are the advantages of banking cord blood?
A. The collection of cord blood is not painful or risky to the mother or baby and can be especially useful if your baby needs a bone marrow transplant at some point in time. Up to 70 percent of people who need a bone marrow transplant can’t find a match. There is only a 25 percent chance that a sibling will be a match while banked cord blood assures a perfect match is available for your child.

So there, any more questions, Thomas?

cord blood banking benefits

Well, let’s have the good doctor answer some more questions about cord blood and cord blood banking before you ask them:

Q. What is cord blood?
A. Cord blood is the remaining blood from a baby’s umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Cord blood is full of stem cells, the building blocks of our blood and immune systems. Stem cells, which produce all the various cell types in the body, can provide many medical benefits and can treat more than 80 diseases, such as treatment for many types of blood diseases and cancers, anemia, inherited metabolic disorders, and problems in the immune system.

Q. What is cord blood banking?
A. Harvesting and banking of cord blood is a simple procedure that can be performed during a delivery without interrupting the birthing process. It is the chance at birth for expectant parents to have their newborn’s stem cells collected and cryopreserved, a special type of freezing, for future use. When you save cord blood stem cells for your baby, the cells are reserved for your family only.

So there you have it. We hope we answered Thomas’ question on cord blood banking benefits.

Cord Blood Banking Benefits posted 29 July 2010. Last updated on 29 July 2010.

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