Cord Blood Banking: The Breakthrough in Medical Science

Cord Blood Banking The Breakthrough in Medical Science. With the trend of cord blood banking, do you consider doing it for your newborn’s cord blood? It would be best to clear all questions in mind before you decide.

Cord blood banking is a breakthrough in medical science. It may be a new idea to you, but it is a thing that you should know, especially if you are about to give birth or you are a beneficiary of the process. As a mother, educating yourself about this is very important, or as a host, it is also equally essential to know, realizing good and harm it may do to you.

The Cord Blood Banking

Mothers, especially first-time moms, need to understand Cord blood banking. Knowing about it would indeed reduce the doubt about the whole process and help them understand and answer all questions in mind.

A cord blood bank preserves the umbilical cord blood of a baby, and this process is called cord blood banking. Cord blood is the excess blood left in the mother’s placenta, and the baby’s umbilical cord cut immediately after the baby’s birth. The cord blood contains both the red and white blood cells, plasma, and blood platelets.

Cord blood is rich in stem cells called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and immune system cells; thus, the preservation process is also called stem cell banking. Stem cells or cord blood are banked through a cryogenic preservation process. Cryopreservation is a method of structurally protecting the living cells, organs, tissues, sperm, embryos, or even an entire body from decay.

Why Choose Cord Blood Banking? 

There must be many reasons for the intentional preservation of cord blood. The decision is an unrestrained choice that should be done with careful and ethical consideration.

Despite some unresolved ethical issues about the process, medical science looks deep into its breakthrough because of these lifesaving benefits from preserving the cord.

1. The blood in the cord’s prompt availability provides an abundant source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These are immature cells that can eventually develop into all blood cell types, including red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and platelets. These HSCs perform blood replenishment and regenerate the immune system.
2. Unlike some transplantation methods, cord blood transplantation has a minimal risk of viral transmission. It is unlikely that the host will get the virus that may cause GvHD. GvHD or the graft versus host disease is a condition that potentially occurs to the host body after an allogeneic transplant.
3. The abundance of human umbilical cord blood makes it a valuable alternative for other stem cell treatments. The procedure is safe for mother and newborn and presents a vast and efficient therapy of therapeutic issues when cord blood banking procedures are correctly taken care of by a trusted facility.

Where To Bank The Cord Blood?

Facilities should carefully observe the science behind the process to gain the full benefit of cord blood banking. Choose the most reliable and trusted facilities in their operation. Many cord blood banks lead in the field’s advancement; know what you need and what they can do.

Public and Private Facilities

There is an option to go for a public or private blood banking facility. If you would like to donate your baby’s cord blood, ask the hospital or the birthing facility for advice who would direct you to public facilities. In such facilities, the stored cord blood will be available only for general use or research without any charges on storage, only the  hospital collection fee.

Meanwhile, if your purpose for banking your baby’s cord blood is for personal use, use private storage facilities where the cord blood will be available only for the baby or for another family member. Charges may be considerable, ranging $1,000 to $2,000 per birth for the collection and a storage fee of $150 – $200 per year for the  maintenance fees.

Banks With Good Quality Control

In choosing a cord blood bank, always know their operational policies, financial stability, best practices, and operation size. Large banks have reasonable quality control checks performed during the entire preservation process. These quality control steps ensure viability and a failure-free preservation process.

Compare Rates

You should know many considerations about the charges for the preservation process per facility. Check for possible financial aid that a facility could provide, especially if you donate your cord to a patient or another family member needing treatment. Know if you will be paying for the insurance coverage and check on the cost of collection and storage.

Takeaway

Cord blood banking is a breakthrough in medical science. The procedure offers lots of valuable benefits especially those that are needing medical treatments for some illnesses. For complete and reliable use of the banked cord blood, always opt for trusted banks that can ideally provide your needs and give the best care for the cord blood you preserve.