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One of my good friend will be delivering her baby in a couple of weeks time and she has asked me for opinion on blood cord banking. I really did not know much about it and decided to do a little reading about this topic. I’ll post some of the information that I’ve gathered here for those who are interested…

What Are Stem Cells?

Unlike normal cells, stem cells have the potential to develop into many different type of cells in the body regardless of its source. Hence, they serve as a repair system for the body. Stem cells can divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the human body is alive.

Stem cells can be derived from the embryo, the bone marrow, the umbilical cord blood or adult peripheral blood.

Advantages of Harvesting Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord

Some studies have suggested that stem cells that are harvested from the umbilical cord have an added advantage over those obtained from the bone marrow. Another advantage is the ease to retrieve stem cells from cord blood as it can only be obtained immediately from the placenta after the delivery of the baby.

Cord blood stem cells can be stored and transplanted back into the donor and to a family member. It differs from bone marrow transplant as the later requires a nearly perfect match of the HLA between the donor and the recipient for it to succeed. Cord blood stem cells do not require such exact match as they accept a recipient’s environment more easily.

The Collection Process

Whether it is vaginal or caesarean births, collections can take place after that. The cord is clamped and cut and a needle is used to take the cord blood. The blood is then drawn from the umbilical veins and fills the specialised cord blood collection bag. Procedure wise, there is little risk and poses no pain to the infant or mother.

Benefits

Cord stem cells can be used in important life saving treatment for more than 70 different kinds of blood diseases, including cancer, immune deficiencies, malignant blood disorders and other inherited metabolic disorders.

Transplants that have been done around the world using stem cell technology include spinal cord injuries, cancers like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute melogenous leukaemia, heart failure, Hodgkin’s disease and Non-Hodgkin’s disease and blood disorder like beta-thalassaemia.

You can do a google search if you want to find the cord blood banks available in your respective country. Despite the high cost of investment,  I totally agree that cord blood banking is a form of bioinsurance. If a child’s cord blood can be used to treat diseases for family members who need it, the effort is without a doubt worth every single cents.