Umbilical cord blood banking lessons for those parenting for the first time

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All parents want their child to be healthy and happy for life time. During the birth of a child, parents make a promise to the baby and to themselves to take very good care of their baby. They try everything that can increase the life expectancy of the baby. Nowadays, parents are being provided with a large number of options that can ensure their child a safe and healthy future. It is umbilical cord storage of the infant. The stem cells found in the cord blood have been found to cure numerous life threatening diseases. Where in the past the survival rate of diseases like childhood leukemia was very low, it has increased in the now.

Cord blood is found in the umbilical cord which contains life saving stem cells. The cells possess genetic information for several organs, immune system, nervous and even blood. This means these cells generate new organs and thus help to cure the disease. Bone marrow transplant is a term with which people are very familiar. However, in many stem cell researches it was found that stem cells present in cord blood are able to treat all those diseases that had been cured by bone marrow. The reason that made it necessary to shift to some other alternative from bone marrow was the difficulty in finding exact bone marrow match of donor.

There are several advantages of umbilical cord blood banking during the birth of child over bone marrow. As explained earlier, the first one is low compatibility of bone marrow cells of the donor and low success rate. Bone marrow has always been painful for the recipient and donor and in some cases dangerous also. The cord stem cells show a perfect genetic match to the child rather than bone marrow. The rising popularity of the cord blood banking process can be determined from the fact that a large number of groups have established facilities for storage, research and also treatment of chronic diseases. Parents need to contact them before heading to the hospitals

One does not need to worry about the cord blood banking cost as they have started various programs for the parents. Every company has different payment options and baby registry gifting system. This system invites multiple people to contribute for the cost. You can ask for the doctor’s recommendation to make a choice. Cord blood banking has been used by thousands families till now. One should contact a cord blood storage group to donate cord blood of their child. Usually cord blood is discarded after birth.

A single donation can help scientists in doing further research and help several people through discovery of further treatments. Till now treatments for about eighty different types of diseases have been discovered and is still in process. The research is being carried out for Alzheimer’s diseases, Lou Gehrig’s disorder, diabetes, also for brain and injuries to the spinal cord. This is how cord blood is benefiting many families. So, every individual should consider the option of safeguarding their family by donation of cord blood during delivery. Single donation today will insure a healthy future of your baby and of the entire family.