Healthcare Investment? Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking

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If you are about to give birth to a new baby and have heard aboutcord blood stem cell banking, then you may wish to bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood for future potential therapies. There are a lot of reasons why you should consider banking your child’s cord blood.

Researchers have discovered that umbilical cord blood contains some very important stem cells which are required for the growth of a healthy immune system. Umbilical cord blood stem cells can be used to treat a number of diseases like inherited red cell abnormalities, lymphoma, plasma cell disorder, neuroblastoma and myeloma.  More and more research is being undertaken to find out the benefits of umbilical cord blood stem cells, and umbilical cord bloodmay potentially be used to treat many more diseases such as juvenile diabetes and multiple sclerosis in the future.

Cord blood stem cellshave been used in over 12,000 transplants worldwide to treat nearly 80 diseases. However, the process can be expensive for a private storage facility, but the safeguard that it offers your family may far outweigh the cost. Cord blood stem cellsare a 100 percent match to the donor child and there is a one in four chance that cord blood stem cells will match the donor’s siblings or perhaps another first-degree relative. An increasing number of auto-immune and degenerative diseases can be treated by umbilical cord blood stem cellsand by privately storing your newborn’scord blood you can safeguard your family’s future health and well-being.

Once you have decided to store your baby’s cord blood stem cells, you are just one step away in ensuring that the cord blood is kept properly for future use. Various methods are utilized for the purpose of cord blood stem cell storage. The entire process of having your child’s cord blood collected, processed, tested and cryo-preserved has been around for nearly twenty years. The first cord blood stem cell transplant occurred in 1988. The cord blood is collected, processed, tested and stored immediately after the baby is born and the process is safe and painless. The cord blood specimen is transferred to the laboratory of the storage company for processing.  The cord blood specimen is frozen and placed in acord blood stem cellstorage tank cooled by liquid nitrogen at a temperature of minus 190 degree Celsius. This low temperature helps to preserve the stem cell for possibly decades or longer thereby allowing the stem cells to be used for future therapies if and when needed. With rapid progress in stem cell research and development, cord blood stem cellsmay be a healthcare investment that could potentially grow in value over time as new stem cell therapies emerge.