Cord Blood BankingThe phenomenon of cord blood banking is a recent development and has taken the world by storm. Parents are confronted with this issue at the time of birth of their new baby. These days almost all hospitals are affiliated with reputed cord blood banks or have storage facilities within their hospital itself. Expecting parents are made aware of the advantages of banking their baby's cord blood by numerous advertisements and promises of miracle cures should their child suffer from some debilitating disease in future. Cord blood stem cells are used to cure many life-threatening diseases and because of cross-matching issues, it makes sense for expecting parents to opt for storing the cord blood. In fact this procedure is being promoted as a sort of life insurance. Storage of the stem cells derived from cord blood means genetically matched stem cells are available in case the child or someone else in the family suffers from any life-threatening blood or immune system disorder. The most important factor here is that there is a 25 percent genetic match between the siblings as well as parents. This means anyone in the family can utilize stored blood in case of need. The storage of stem cell rich cord blood can help many people overcome what would otherwise have been fatal diseases. Furthermore the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has also endorsed such a procedure, although it discourages treating it as a de facto life insurance policy. "The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages families to donate their newborn’s cord blood, which is normally discarded at birth, to organizations for use by other individuals in need. Storing cord blood at private banks for later personal or family use as a general “insurance policy” is discouraged." In summary cord blood banking is a procedure that can be a boon for your child and even your family in times of need. By opting to store this stem cell rich blood, you are ensuring protection for your child in case of unforeseen circumstances in his/her future life. Recent years has seen the emergence of both public and private cord blood banking. Public banks are supported by the medical community and do not charge a fee for storing the blood, while private banks charge a set fee. While storing cord blood in public banks are highly recommended, one downside is that all the identifying links between the donor and the blood is removed which means that one cannot get a sample of their own blood if the need arises in future. This is one of the uncertainties of opting to store the cord blood. Furthermore parents are also discouraged for going to private banks due to the high costs associated with the procedure.
|