Posts Tagged ‘Cord Blood Banking’

Cord Blood Banks - Choose the Right One

Saturday, December 6th, 2008
banking
Apurva Shree asked:


With the discovery of the stem cells in the umbilical cord, the task of fighting against malignant diseases has been made somewhat easier. The Lifesaving potential found in cord blood has shown to reduce usual risks associated with transplant treatments. Being the most primitive cells in a body, these stem calls can regenerate different types of cells. In the past two decades, scientists have made major breakthroughs with every passing year. Today, a well-preserved unit of cord blood can save a person from more than 75 diseases! After finding a host of healing potentials in umbilical cord blood cells, scientists are still in the process and hopeful about discovery of more latent potential in cord blood cells. From professionals to parents of babies, the enthusiasm is widespread and evident – whether for donation or for cord blood preservation for future use.

Private Vs Public Cord Blood Banks

Your baby’s cord blood can be preserved in either a private cord blood bank or a public bank. The main purpose of these banks is the processing and cord blood storage. If the storage center is public, then the blood cells cannot be permanently entitled to the donor. Here the donors can be ensured units of cord blood, but not necessarily that his own. The donor is mostly likely to be a stranger. The cost of preservation in such banks is comparatively lower than the private banks offering cord blood banking facility.

Nevertheless, private blood banks do have their own share of obstacles. The cost of cord blood storage in private banks is quite high and is likely to discourage many. The biggest attraction towards private cord blood banks is the guarantee that the cord blood a patient preserves, will not be used by anyone else, unless the donor himself permits. Compared to the lower chances of cord blood cells transplants in a child, storage prices charged by these banks are relatively quite high.

How Much Worth Is It?

The capability of these enterprises, credentials of these private banks play as strong determining factors in the U.S. Banks accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks are entertained mostly by the hospitals. After cord blood collection, the samples are sent to these blood banks for processing and cyropreservation. Donors must check out the records related to the number of cases in which blood banks have used their stored samples in transplants. Recent estimation concludes that there is only 1% chance for autologous use of cord blood cells.

There are both non-profit and for-profit private banks operating in the industry for cord blood preservation. Cord blood storage for about 15 years may require you to pay around $3,000 in total. However, the donors can curtail price or can receive discounts by paying certain amount of upfront payments. Some banks enable donors to save around $500 for receiving a stipulated upfront payment.

If you and your partner are expecting a child soon, consider cord blood registry now as it can contribute in treating over 75 severe diseases. Not only will your child have a secure future, his siblings will benefit too. Diseases that can only be treated by drugs, rays such as chemotherapy or risk prone bone marrow transplants, are being treated with cord blood, with little or no side effects.



Elsie

Benefits Of Cord Blood Banking

Sunday, October 26th, 2008
banking
Greg Roy asked:


The primary benefit to cord blood banking is that it provides a type of medical insurance. This insurance is not from a financial prospective, but rather takes the form of having the necessary medical building blocks available should they be needed in the event of certain illnesses and diseases. Those medical building blocks are the stem cells found in umbilical cord blood.

In the past 5 or 6 years, there have been dramatic medical advances in the arena of stem cell research, and more discoveries are announced practically every month. Many doctors and researchers see great potential in the use of stem cells to reverse or cure many severe, life-threatening diseases. With these facts in mind, many parents are choosing to preserve the stems cells found in umbilical cord blood after birth. There are no health risks in doing so. The primary risk is that the yearly $100 fee for storage will be wasted in the event that the stem cells are never needed.

More and more parents are taking notice of the advances in stem cell research. Here are some highlights:

Transplant science is constantly improving. Several companies are bringing to market methods of “expanding” the stem cell population in the laboratory, and these methods are starting to be applied in clinical trials.

The evolution from pluripotent stem cells down to blood stem cells is currently poorly understood. The latest indication is that, under the right conditions, stem cells in cord blood can be teased to grow into other types of tissue besides blood. This would open up an entire new realm of potential treatment through the use of stem cells.

As a result of these advances, it is not unreasonable to hope that cord blood may eventually be used to treat a wider variety of auto-immune and degenerative diseases than is currently being done. If so, (and there are solid indications by researchers that this indeed is the case), it makes perfect sense to consider private cord blood banking.

The arguments in favor of private banking are several:

1. As today’s children grow up and some of them develop cancer as adults, autologous (self) cord blood transplants will become more common used. Pediatric cancers and adult cancers are completely different diseases at the cellular level (to learn more about cancer visit the website of the National Cancer Institute). While pediatric cancer patients rarely receive autologous transplants, among adult cancer patients the autologous transplants are more common than transplants from donors.

2. Recent news reports constantly announce new medical advances using stem cells. Future applications will probably include tissue repair to various organs of the body.

3. Families should consider is whether the odds given for the “average baby” apply to them. Some families do have a higher predisposition to cancer and immune disorders, and would be far more likely to benefit from cord blood banking than the statistics indicate.

4. If your family, especially your children, are of mixed ethnic background, it may be impossible to find an adult bone marrow donor who is a perfect match. In that event, cord blood from even a partially matched sibling would be invaluable if a stem cell transplant is necessary.



Monica