Cord blood banking, in essence, is a process of accumulating life-saving stem cells from the mother’s placenta and umbilical cord. This, in turn, can be used to cure various diseases that might be unearthed in their later years. But is it really worthy enough?
Let’s find out.
Benefits of Cord Blood
The core benefits of cord blood banking may entail the following:
1: An Indispensable Medical Resource.
The pristine cells, situated in the mother’s stem blood, can be quite valuable in curing liver issues and various metabolic disorders. In some cases, it’s also touted to be a true savior for people who are suffering from blood cancer. Thus, keeping something invaluable as this can be quite beneficial for your children.
2: A No-Pain Procedure.
The accumulation procedure of cord blood is pretty. Usually, when the physician is delivering the baby, they’ll cut the umbilical cord from your uterus first. And instead of throwing it, the organ will be kept in a medical-grade container. Once the delivery is completed, the doctor is going to take the cord and inject the blood away from it. No pain. No operation. Nothing.
3: For One and For All.
Most people think that cord blood can only be used for a single person – your child. However, that’s not true. As long as the blood group of the same matches with another person, they can use it too. Therefore, if a chronic blood-related condition, such as leukemia, runs through your family, it might be best to collect blood for everyone.
4: Lower Post-Transplantation Risks.
Blood transplantation can be a dicey affair, no matter how carefully it’s performed. After all, your immune system is designed to protect your health from anything that arrives from outer space. And someone else’s blood (read – red blood cells) is one of them. However, the same reason doesn’t apply to cord blood, as it’s “pure” in form, unlike anything else.
5: Have A Higher and Better Yield.
The total number of stem cells, especially the “untouched” ones, can be around three-fourteen times more than anywhere else. And there are two benefits of it. Firstly, it doesn’t require too much blood to be taken out from someone else. Secondly, it doesn’t carry any illnesses or diseases whatsoever. That’s why it’s known as the “purest” form of blood.
Should You Bank Your Cord Blood?
Cord blood, if collected and banked properly, can become an elixir of life. However, in most cases, it’s not used by the person who has asked to store it.
Why?
To start off, after the collection and banking procedure is completed, the cord blood must be utilized within 15-20 years. Otherwise, its quality will drop, and it’ll become unusable.
Also, keeping cord blood in a bank can be quite exorbitant, especially for someone belonging to a middle-class family. Hence, many families can’t afford it, even if they want to do it.
However, if you want to store the blood, it can be used for:
- Leukemia.
- Non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
- Sickle-cell and Aplastic anemia.
- Thalassemia.
- Aplastic disease.
Additionally, it can also be used for treating other rare diseases, like immune deficiencies. In any case, using blood can be a tricky task, as mentioned before. After all, even a sister or a brother only has a 25% chance of getting a perfect genetic match. Thus, in most cases, a sibling might require a cord blood transplant or bone marrow from someone unrelated.
What Does The Future Hold?
Honestly, no one has any idea about how stem cells are supposed to be used in the future. We mean, yes, it has its advantages. But, the drawbacks of the same are overwhelmingly coercing as well. Hence, it might be better for you to talk to a doctor before going for this option.
Also, if you are opting for cord blood banking, we’d recommend you make a financial plan for your future. After all, the procedure can be quite expensive, even for affluent families. So, it’s better to have a backup plan in your armory before making a move.
