You may have many things to think about when you are going to be a parent, and one of them is the use of the blood of your newborn’s umbilical cord. Did you know that you can store that blood for the future health of your child?
Earlier, the blood of the umbilical cord used to be thrown away at the birth of a child, but now, many parents choose to preserve it for several associated health benefits. This fluid has ten times more stem cells than those accessible through the bone marrow. These cells can treat blood diseases, such as anemia, cancer, and some immune system disorders, which may disturb your physical ability to defend yourself from ailments.
Stem cell storage may comprise several pros and cons. They are not only accepted by the body but also have reduced risk of GVHD or Graft Versus Host Disease, which is a significant drawback of stem cell transplants.
Umbilical cord stem cells rarely have any infectious diseases. Also, they are half as likely to get a rejection from the adult body. Preserving your stem cells could help you gain a range of different treatment opportunities in their lifetime.
You can store stem cells for up to 25 years because cord blood banking has been there for the said time, and no scientific data proves that stem cells can be preserved for a longer time than that. Scientists, however, also believe that cryogenically stored stem cells do not have an expiry date, and so it is possible to store frozen cord blood indefinitely.
Once collected, the cord blood will be processed to remove the stem cells and to detect any bacteria and viruses. The laboratory will then freeze them using a specific program and store them in liquid nitrogen. Currently, a few stem cell treatments have established their safety effectiveness, and other applications of cord blood are still in clinical trials.