Why Expectant Parents Save Their Baby’s Umbilical Cord Blood

By Author: CordKeast
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Posted by Cells4Life on Oct 13, 2013 in Cord Blood Banking | 0 comments

The lifesaving power of cord blood and the regenerative healing potential of cord tissue are now widely recognized and is no longer a secret. As stem cell research and treatments advance, more and more parents are motivated to bank their baby’s cord blood stem cells. Reasons that families decide to store cord blood is varied, but here are the top common reasons:

Therapies in development Current clinical trials are using cord blood in treatments for conditions that cannot be predicted based on a family history of disease, like brain injury and acquired hearing loss. For many parents, the future potential unknown of stem cells is a very compelling reason to bank.

Concern about finding a donor match Ethnic minorities and people of mixed race are at risk of not finding a match using a public bank. Although family banking does not guarantee a match, saving for all of your children increases the likelihood that they may be able to help each other.

History of family illness Cord blood is used today to treat many life-threatening illnesses ...
... including leukemia, certain other cancers and blood, immune and metabolic disorders. Your baby’ cord blood could be a valuable resource for your family.

Got questions about cord blood banking? Speak to our specialists now at +971 4 3116613 or send us an email at info@medcells.a

The lifesaving power of umbilical cord blood stem cells and the regenerative healing of cord tissue is no longer a secret. As stem cell treatments and research advance, more and more parents are opting to bank their newborn baby’s cord blood and tissue. Find out how stem cells are being used in medicine today.

Umbilical cord blood is the blood remaining in the cord after your baby has been born and the cord has been cut and clamped. It contains valuable stem cells that can be used in a variety of medical treatments such as regenerating the immune system after chemotherapy. Stem cells are known as ‘the building blocks of life’. They have the unique ability to become other types of cells in the body such as the blood, nerve cells, muscle, bone, and cartilage.

Why are umbilical stem cells so valuable?

Cord blood stem cells can only be collected at birth, so it is important to make the decision to do cord tissue storage several weeks before your due date.

Cord Tissue stored at birth have many advantages – they are readily available for your family if needed, they are considered to be the ‘youngest and freshest’ type of stem cell, and importantly there is a greater potential of a stem cell match between siblings.

Stem cells from the cord blood have been used for more than 20 years for the treatment of a number of disorders of the blood such as leukemia, lymphoma and thalassemia, which previously had been treated with bone marrow.

The umbilical cord blood collection process

After the safe delivery of your child, your obstetrician or midwife cleans the umbilical cord (with the materials provided in the Cells4Life kit) and inserts the blood bag needle into the umbilical vein. The blood flows into the bag by gravity. The blood bag tubing is clamped, sealed and labeled to await courier collection. The whole process takes only a few minutes and causes no pain for mother or baby.

Darren Keast is the author of this article on Umbilical Cord Blood.Find more information, about Cord blood banking here