Cord Blood Banking
July is National Cord Blood Awareness Month. If you're pregnant, or think you will be soon, now is the time to consider cord blood banking for your child's health -- or everyone's.
Like bone marrow, cord blood, the blood found in the umbilical cord after birth, is a source of stem cells unrelated to the embryonic stem cells that have caused controversy in recent years. Unlike bone marrow, cord blood cells are biologically young and can be used for transplants sooner in the process and with a lower risk of complications.
It is quick and easy to have these cells cryogenically frozen for long-term storage immediately after birth, but it is not done routinely. If you do not arrange for cord blood banking the blood will be discarded and its benefits missed.
Recently, researchers have been looking to cord blood cells for use in regenerative medicine for tissue repair. Successful in treating leukemia, cord blood may also prove to have applications for cerebral palsy, brain injury, and type 1 diabetes.
Cord blood cells have the potential to help not only the child him- or herself, but often their siblings. Other family members may also present a suitable match. Cord blood cells can also be valuable for research. In his or her first hour of life, your baby could make an important contibution to global health.
The cells can be stored indefinitely, and nearly 1 in 200 people will need a stem cell transplant by age 70. This simple measure could save your child's life.