Heartiest congratulations to all the to-be mom for being pregnant. Birth of your child is the most exciting phase of your life. At this time, you must be impatiently waiting to see your baby and also remain eager to welcome the baby. But at the time of birth, you will get an opportunity to protect the health of your baby as well as your family. This opportunity is known as cord blood banking which can be done only at the time of the birth.
The blood that is found in the umbilical cord is known as cord blood. Cord blood is the richest source of stem cells which is having the potential to treat different diseases. The stem cells can grow into any kind of specific cells of the body which further develops into different organs as well as tissues. It has been approved in clinical trials that some of the diseases such as autism, blood cancer, immune-related diseases, metabolic disorders, etc. can be treated by stem cells
Now you must be thinking about what are stem cells……
Before the birth of a baby, it is attached to the placenta of the mother by the help of the umbilical cord. this cord is a tube-like structure which helps to pass the oxygen as well as the nutrients from the mother to the baby. Few years back this umbilical cord is cut and thrown as medical waste. But after the discovery of stem cells, the doctor suggests the parents store the stem cells of the baby that can be used in future treatments. The reason behind is that stem cells which are found in the cord blood can be transplanted into the patient suffering from diseases that are untreatable by traditional methods of therapy. The cord blood banking is the process where collection, isolation, and cryopreservation are done to bank a baby’s stem cells.
For storing your baby’s stem cell must contact with the companies that will provide you the facility of stem cell banking. Once you register with the cord blood bank, they will provide you with the kit box. At the time of the birth, Cord blood of your baby is collected by the gynecologist or the phlebotomist. this blood is then kept in the x-ray free kit box which is then transported to the lab for further processing. Once it reaches the lab stem cells are extracted from the cord blood and is kept in compartmentalized cryo-pouches in the storage compartment with liquid nitrogen at -196 degree Celsius.
Before banking your baby’s cord blood, you must know about the benefits of stem cells harvested from cord blood.
- They can be easily extracted from the umbilical cord blood. as the cord blood is collected after the birth of the baby so the process is painless and risk-free for both the mother and the baby.
- In the case of stem cells retrieved from cord blood registry, there is a less chance of getting an HLA matched stem cells for the patient. However, if you preserve your baby’s stem cells then it will be helpful for both your baby as well as your family members. the reason behind is that your baby’s stem cells will surely get a match with your family members. In addition, there are fewer chances of getting any kind of infection or complications after treatment.
- Stem cells collected from the umbilical cord blood have much more ability to get HLA match when compared to the stem cells collected from bone marrow. In addition to this, the stem cells from the umbilical cord are having fewer chances of causing graft versus host disease in the recipient.
It can be concluded that the stem cells have the power of regenerating the immunity of the body. So, you before approaching your estimated due date you must decide for preserving your baby’s stem cells. By banking your baby’s stem cells, you automatically provide health security for you and your family in treating different life-threatening diseases.