One of the newer decisions expectant parents are making now is whether or not to store their baby’s umbilical cord blood supply with a bank. Although it can be expensive(around $3000) to harvest and store, the potential benefits are priceless.
What Is It
When I first heard of this procedure, I thought that it sounded complicated. Upon further research, I found out that it is actually quite simple. After the umbilical cord is cut, the blood is drained out of the placenta and remaining umbilical cord. This blood is rich in stem cells, which are immature blood cells that are able to change and mature into any type of blood cell as your baby grows, just like bone marrow cells. These cells are preserved in a storage facility and are ready for use when needed.
How Is It Done
Long before your due date, the cord blood bank sends you a collection kit that contains everything that is needed for the process. The bank also sends your OB or Midwife instructions to make sure he or she knows how to collect the blood. When baby is born, and the umbilical cord is cut, the OB or Midwife collects the blood from the remaining umbilical cord and placenta (not from baby) into a syringe or blood bag. The process only takes a few minutes, and the blood is then set aside until all the birth excitement dies down. It can also be collected during a C-section. A family member places the cord blood into the pre-addressed mailing package and makes a phone call to a medical courier to pick up the kit. Within hours the cord blood is picked up and shipped overnight to the cord blood bank. Once there, it is processed. The stem cells are removed from the cord blood and placed into deep freeze storage.
Why Do It
Cord blood stem cells are not just for your baby. Virtually all mothers and about half of siblings will be a suitable match for a baby’s stem cells. And it can be used to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, for your baby or any matching member of your family. Recent research showed the chance that a person would need to use his or her own banked stem cells for current treatments by the time they are 21 is one in 2700, and the chance that a family member could use them is one in 1400. Here is a list of treatable diseases that have been discovered so far. This list grows every year as researchers continue to study this field.
- Heart Attacks. Doctors have infused stem cells into the damaged heart muscle of numerous heart attack patients to see if the cells would generate new heart tissue and repair the damage. Results so far look promising.
- Coronary Artery Disease. Doctors have infused stem cells in the hearts of patients with clogged arteries. The stem cells helped new blood vessels grow around the blocked arteries, thus improving blood flow to the areas in the heart at risk of damage.
- Multiple Sclerosis. Doctors have infused stem cells into patients with MS and have shown mild improvement in their disease.
- Nerve and Brain Damage. Researchers have recently shown in a laboratory setting that human stem cells can mature into nerve cells. The implication of this for treating a variety of neurological problems is astounding.
- Vascular Disease. Stem cells have been shown to grow new blood vessels around narrowed or damaged arteries in the limbs and restore impaired blood flow.
- Strokes. Researchers have shown that infusing human stem cells into rats improves brain function after a stroke or traumatic brain injury.
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Cancer and other blood-related disorders.Besides these possibilities, there are still the current uses for treating certain cancers and other blood problems. Stem cells can either be taken from the patient’s or a matching family member’s bone marrow, or from stored cord blood. Here are some benefits when cord blood is used instead of bone marrow:
- Research has shown that survival rates double when a person’s own cord blood or a family member’s cord blood is used, compared to using an unrelated donor sample from a public stem cell bank.
- Having your own private sample ensures immediate availability of a perfectly matched sample.
- While bone marrow can also be a source of stem cells if needed, cord blood stem cells are easier to match for family members, thus increasing the chance that a family member can receive a related stem cell transplant.
- Research has shown that patients who receive cord blood stem cell transplants have a smaller chance of rejecting the cells, compared to bone marrow stem cell transplants.
If you choose not to bank your baby’s cord blood through a private bank, you should consider donating it to a public bank. There are several around the country and some hospitals have programs set up for parents to donate. This makes the stem cells available to anyone who matches. There is a huge need for this worldwide. Parents can investigate this option at their birth hospital. Although donated units are almost never available to the donating family if the need should arise, you can still feel good about helping another family in need.
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