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Apurva Shree asked:


Cord blood banking is a newly emergent technology in medical science to use cord blood cells of placenta for treating multiple diseases. This new technology has sparked apprehensiveness among people due to existing misconceptions about cord blood banking. Even though latest researches in umbilical cord blood cells are pointing to new ways in treating malignant diseases like cancers, few misconceptions are blinding people from the benefits of preserving these cells. Therefore, a clear margin must be drawn to distinguish misconceptions and facts about cord blood preservation.

The arrival of a newborn in a family can help you preserve lifesaving resources for the benefits of both your baby and your family. These stem cells can heal about 75 fatal diseases of blood cells and immune system and recently, have shown effectiveness in curing heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, etc. Prior to discovering benefits, blood cells in babies’ umbilical cords were put to trash. Now these blood cells are collected and stored. Some misleading ideas are putting off parents from considering cord blood banking, causing inadequate storage of resources and unavailability of cells in transplants.

Misconceptions about Cord Blood Storage

Doctors do not treat children with their own stem cells, as they may contain diseases. On the contrary, such autologous stem cell transplants have shown several advantages including low risk of graft vs. host disease, which is a primary cause of death among transplant patients.

If the family has not had any history of cancer illness, then the babies or the siblings may not require stem cell. Facts claim certain types of cancers that growing at an alarming pace and have been found to infect about many children by around fifteen years regardless of family history. Therefore, cord blood banking acts as an additional safeguard for the babies in your family.

If public cord blood bank provides the cells in need, there is no need for cord blood banking of the cells taken from your babies. It is not just about availability. During transplants, the genetic make up of the patient is also considered. Donating your baby’s cord blood ensures that the chances of genetic mismatch in times of emergency are greatly reduced. Moreover, umbilical cord blood cells are less mature and have fifty per cent more chances of HLA matches between siblings; this is why, privately stored cord blood cells can provide immense quantity of lifesaving cells for your family in need.

Umbilical Cord blood collection can hurt the newborn baby and can even cause a blood deficiency. This is wrong. Umbilical cord blood collection cannot harm your baby in any way. It is collected from the placenta only after your baby is detached from the mother. Neither the mother nor the baby can feel the blood being drained from the placenta and the umbilical cord.

Cord blood banks accept any type of blood from the donors. If the blood units are mixed, the patient runs a risk of infection. Here again, it is important to say that not all the blood cells are considered eligible due to the medical history, maternal history, collection volume of the samples etc. When the parents agree for a cord blood registry, they undergo a series of tests to ensure that the blood is fit for storage. Even if there are any complications during pregnancy, the plan for cord blood collection is immediately abandoned. Studies state that around 71 per cent of samples are rejected.

No one can plan a foolproof safeguard for deadly diseases, but cord blood banking can still give us the security to save our dear family members.



Frank