An encyclopedia to baby cord blood banking

Picture
‘Save cord blood’ is the new motto of many medical experts all around the world. Cord blood is in fact what remains in placenta vessels and a part of umbilical cord still remains connected to this even after the delivery. There is being done much advancement and many systems have been invented till now to make the process of umbilical cord blood collection easy. Efforts are being made to inform everyone about the need to donate umbilical cord. Once one goes through this process only then one would be clear about what this process is all about. However, there are some things that would be helpful if you know them already.

As explained earlier, cord blood is what remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after birth. This blood contains the stem cells which can be further used during the transplant for the patient suffering from lymphoma, leukemia and several other diseases that cause threat to the life. Next is the cord blood collection method. The procedure of collection of the cord blood is easy and painless. It does not take much time and is completed in a few minutes. It does not at all affect the delivery or have on side effects. The health experts use a syringe, cut the cord and draw the blood from the baby cord or drain it from cord when it has been put into the bag.

The next step is baby cord blood banking. Cord blood is not stored in the casual freezer as it has to be kept at chilled temperature that is -130 degree Celsius. This is the reason the doctors store it in a nitrogen freezer. Nitrogen freezers are of two types- liquid and vapors. The vapor nitrogen freezers make use of nitrogen that chills the air in the freezer. The liquid freezer submerges the blood sample into the nitrogen directly. When it comes to the cost issue, each of the private banks has different charges. While private banks will charge heavy prices, the public banks take less money.

The recent study by California University in San Francisco has estimated that the average cord blood banking cost including both initial banking and then storage for about twenty years is about $3620. It is completely the decision of an individual whether one wants to donate or discard it. One can search on the internet to find out the cord blood banks that are available in the country. There are many hospitals also that have association with such banks. Those who have decided to store or donate the cord blood should report to the hospital or bank by the 34th week of pregnancy.

 According to research done by many organizations, like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have estimated that the chances for child to require its own cord blood in future are nearly about one in 200,000. The stem cells are known to cure diseases-mainly diabetes and cardio as these two are very common. The scientists are thus making use of the stem cells for the stem cell treatment. They further have done many researches which are helpful for the life of your child only.