Recently, close friends Jayesh and Simran delivered a second baby boy, Kiann. Like responsible parents, they believed in their child’s healthy future and went for private cord blood banking in spite of having preserved the umbilical cord for their firstborn a few years ago. In just 3 months’ time, their newborn was diagnosed with osteoporosis. This is possibly a condition where Kiann’s bone formation could be at risk and may lead to a fatality. The couple were optimistic because they were told that stem cell transplantation could actually save their newborn’s life.

In the rarest of cases, when Kiann’s stem cells were taken for testing, the parents found out that Kiann’s cord blood cells contained the same genetic deficiency that caused his disorder. Jayesh and Simran were distraught. But there was light at the end of the tunnel.  Precedence suggested that doctors could explore using donor cells from a close match. In order to treat a genetic disorder known as Fanconi’s anaemia, the first successful sibling-to-sibling cord-blood stem-cell transplant was performed in 1988.

There was hope yet for Kiann. Since Jayesh and Simran had opted to invest in storing their firstborn’s cord blood cells a few years ago, the doctors on testing that sample were able to get a reasonably compatible match. The doctors chose to go ahead with the stem cell transplantation and Kiann is now well on his way to recovery.

So the question that most parents spend a lot of time on is whether there is a need to store the cord blood and tissue for each individual child? In Jayesh and Simran’s case, the fact that they preserved the cord blood cells for both their children actually helped to save the life of their second born child.

According to the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, “Two full siblings have a 25% chance of being a perfect match, a 50% chance of being a half match, and a 25% chance of not matching at all.” However, Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, Program Director of the division of Paediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Duke University Medical Center and one of the earliest to perform an unrelated cord-blood transplant in the U.S says, “One of the wonderful things about cord blood banking is that unlike bone marrow, you don’t always need a perfect match in order for it to work.”

Apart from the medical point of view of why one must consider storing the cord blood and tissue for both children, there is an additional take from a parenting perspective. By opting to bank the cord blood and tissue of a single child, most parents forget that it may lead to a regrettable situation where they may realize that they had made an unequal key medical decision.

Storing the stem cells of each child individually will allow you and your children access to a greater number of stem cells through which their future disorders and diseases can be cured. Dr. Jordan Perlow, MD, a maternal-foetal specialist in Phoenix, post attending medical conferences and having examined and analyzed findings about advances in stem-cell treatments now urges his patients to privately cord blood bank if they can meet the expense of it because he’s confident that it might save their child’s life or the life of another family member.

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Like most parents, when you decided to have kids, nuances in finance might have been the last thing on your mind. The role of parent to your little bundle of joy was your primary focus and now that the little ones are growing up fast, it is a good idea to start making some crucial decisions on financial investments, insurance covers and the much talked about cord blood banking.

Ways in Which You can Secure Your Child’s Future

There are three primary areas that you should seek to secure for your child – Life, Health and Future. It is important to start planning each of these areas at an early stage. Here are a few recommendations that might prove useful for you:

1. Life: A sound financial plan for their education, daily care and other activities.
2. Health: Medical Insurance cover and the latest Umbilical cord blood banking.
3. Future: Getting Life Insurance to cope with any future uncertainties.

Financial Planning

1. Investing in mutual funds is a great way to get the dice rolling.
2. SIP and fixed deposits are a smart choice when there are funding problems. They are less risky and yield good returns.
3. Opening a savings account in your child’s name and contributing a stipulated amount every month will prove immensely useful in the long run.

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking and Health

1. This was a fairly alien concept till a couple of years ago in India, but is becoming rapidly popular.
2. Collection and private storage of cord blood when the child is born is built around the possibility of its use either by the same child at a later date, or a sibling or another family member.
3. Diseases such as lymphomas, leukemia, sickle-cell anaemia, aplastic anaemia, immune deficiency disorders in your family history doubles the chances of your offspring being affected. Cord blood could prove to be a life saver in such cases.

Insurance Cover

1. Investing in medical insurance can save you extra stress during a health emergency.
2. Getting life cover has the dual benefits in terms of both savings and security.
3. A big advantage of child life cover is that the premium is relatively low because of the young age of the insured.

No matter where you start, the universal mantra is to start early. This will help you save more without having less money for everyday expenses.

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