0
There are no good estimates of how often a child will need a transplant of his own cells. Estimates range from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 200,000
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What is cord blood banking?
Cord blood banking is a service that collects blood from your newborn baby's umbilical cord and stores it for you in case a medical need for it arises in your family.
What exactly is an blood cord?
The most popular definition of blood cord is the umbilical cord that attaches a baby to its mother's placenta. The blood cord is popular right now because it contains the most viable source of stem cells for a person, and parents are encouraged to bank this blood should the baby need a transplant in the future.
Is cord blood useable by the parents?
Yes. They just need to enroll in a family cord blood bank and they are also willing to pay monthly fees + storage fees.
Choose Umbilical Cord Blood Storage to Save Lives?
The blood contained in a baby’s umbilical cord can be useful in fighting life-threatening illness. Since the umbilical cord is usually discarded after a baby is born, parents are now choosing umbilical cord blood storage to preserve this valuable blood for future use.The blood in the umbilical cord contains healthy blood-forming cells. When this blood can be saved using umbilical cord blood storage, this healthy blood can be used later in patients with diseased blood-forming cells, who are fighting diseases like leukemia, lymphoma or inherited metabolic or immune system disorders. The blood saved using umbilical cord blood storage can be used for a cord blood transplant.A cord blood transplant has a better chance of being successful for a patient when the blood-forming cells come from a donor who closely matches the patient. The umbilical cord blood seems to be most useful patient who are struggling to find a matching marrow donor, patients who have an unusual tissue type, patients with a life-threatening genetic disorder, or patients who need to receive a transplant quickly.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes the options that expectant parents have for umbilical cord blood storage. The parents can choose to have the cord blood donated to a public umbilical cord blood storage bank. The blood stored in these public banks is made available to patients who are in need of a transplant. Not every hospital can collect the cord blood for umbilical cord blood storage in public banks.Another option for expectant parents is to store the cord blood in a family (or private) umbilical cord blood storage bank. These banks are available to any family willing to pay for them.A third option for expectant parents is to store the cord blood for a family member who has a specific medical need. The parents can have then the blood they saved in umbilical cord blood storage directly donated to the family member who needs it.The fourth option for expectant parents is to donate the cord blood to a laboratory or technology company that can use it for research. In these cases, there is no charge for collecting the cord blood.Any expectant parents who want to consider umbilical cord blood storage for any purpose should talk to their health care provider.
What are the advantages of storing umbilical cord blood?
Many sources currently state that it is a good idea to store umbilical cord blood in case there is need for it later in life. Other sources state that it is better to leave a child attached to a placenta for a longer length of time to allow all of the blood to pass into the child.
What is the process I would go about to save cord blood?
You would need to contact one of the companies who handles cord blood collections, and they will send you information as well as the supplies you will need in order to be able to do this. One such example is located at http://cryo-cell.com/services/how_the_process_works.asp. The first most important part for the process of saving cord blood would be to find a cord blood bank that you will want to use. Once you have found one that you like, they will walk you through the rest of the process.
How do you process cord blood?
Before the mother's delivery date and if she passes a series of tests to become a qualified donor, she'll need to sign up for an agreement either to donate or to preserve the baby's umbilical cord. On the day of her delivery, the assigned doctor will immediately remove the umbilical cord as soon as the baby is delivered. The blood inside the cord is drawn out using a syringe then the blood is kept inside a special-made container. This cord blood is brought to laboratory for series of screenings. When the cord blood is confirmed safe, it's delivered to the cord bank, in which it is stored in a nitrogen-filled freezer.
What service does Via Cord provide?
ViaCord is a cord blood bank. The service provides a collection kit for the delivering physician to harvest the umbilical cord blood at birth. This is then shipped to ViaCord and stored. The blood is a source of stem cells, which could be used in the future for medical therapies should need arise.
How cord blood is collected and preserved and how it is usefull in treating diseases?
Cord blood is collected after the birth of a baby. How it is collected depends on the cord blood bank you are using. Most of the private banks will provide you with a collection kit that includes everything you need to collect your baby's cord blood. Most of the banks recommend a gravity method of collection. They will provide you with a specimen collection bag with a needle on a tube. After the baby is removed from the cord, the needle is placed into the cord and the blood is collected in the bag with gravity drawing the blood down into the bag. Once the blood is collected, most private banks will arrange for a courier to come to the hospital to collect the blood. Cord blood is useful in treating a number of different diseases (for a list, visit http://www.mazecordblood.com/cordblood-transplant.htm), but its greatest value is in its potential. Scientists are currently studying cord blood to be used as treatment for things like diabetes, cerebral palsy, and heart disease. If these treatments are realized, the potential for cord blood will be endless.
Why would one want umbilical cord preservation?
Due to the blood left over in the placenta after a baby is born the umbilical cord is cut. Cord blood has been shown to cotain stem cells and early precursor cells that can be dontated and used for stem cell tranplantation for children and adults in need of a stem cell transplant. Not only will this save lives but it will also benefit to the future of mankind as it develops in the race to sustain humans.
Is storing Cord blood worth it?
Absolutely yes, especially if you set aside a budget for it. The rates of storing a cord blood in private banks vary. For this, you'll need to browse different banks online then compare its prices & payment plans.
Would babies and parents benefit from umbilical cord blood storage?
Storing cord blood for the baby's own use is generally useless. Only a tiny fraction of 1% of babies will need it. Storing it for transfusion to another baby is very useful (not to mention altruistic). Yes, babies and parents would benefit from umbilical cord blood storage. This is because if anything happens to the babies after birth, you can get blood culture right away to replace the lost blood.
