Cord blood is the blood that is inside the umbilical cord and placenta when an infant is born. If the umbilical cord is clamped immediately following birth, that blood does not return to the infant. This blood can be harvested and sent to a cord blood bank. If the umbilical cord is left unclamped for a period after birth, as is protocol for mid-wifing and water birth, up to 180 mL of blood is returned to the newborn. Cord blood banks are facilities that store the blood that is harvested from umbilical cords. These facilities are either public or privately run.

Public cord blood banks are facilities that store the blood harvested, for the use of the general public. Anyone in the general public that had need of the cord blood would have access to it. Because of the way that donations are handled and stored, a family that donated cord blood to a public facility, would have no way to retrieve that sample if a transplant were needed. Private cord blood banks keep the cold blood in reserve for the family. There is a 50% chance that the cord blood of an infant will be a viable tissue match for their parents and grandparents, and a 75% chance that they will be a match for their siblings.

The reason that cord blood is so helpful is that is rich with stem cells. Cord stem cells are useful in several types of disorders. Haematopoiesis is the formation of blood components. It is the haematiopoiesic stem cells inside the bone marrow that produces blood. This type of stem cells can become any type of blood. This means that stem cells can be used in place of bone marrow for transplant. Roughly 50% of the patients in need of a bone marrow transplant are unable to find a match within the registry. Stem cells from cord blood provide a good alternative for them. Also, bone marrow transplants aren’t always an option for children. Stem cells work better for them. This is a viable treatment for anyone that is suffering with a blood disease or cancer that a bone marrow transplant would help. Cord blood can be aid in the treatment of any blood or immune disorder. This includes any diseases that are related to genetics and cancer. Some of the diseases that cord blood can help treat are: Alzheimer’s; Leukemia; Hurlers Syndrome; Severe Combined Immunodeficiency; Sickle-cell Anemia; Hodgkin’s disease; Hunter’s Syndrome; and dozens of other diseases.

With all the good that cord blood banking can do it seems like common sense to donate cord blood. There is, however, some controversy over it. The first issue collecting the blood from the cord and placenta would not allow that blood to return to the newborn. Some critics are concerned that the blood loss could be dangerous for the infant. This concern is one of the reasons behind the extended-delayed cord clamping protocol that mid wives use. Mid wives usually wait to clamp off the cord 30 or so minutes after birth, once most of the cord blood is returned to the infant and the remainder has coagulated and created a “plug” in the cord. During births in medical facilities, the cord is usually clamped earlier. So the blood in the cord and placenta would not be allowed to return it the newborn anyway. Another concern is that many blood diseases do not become evident until later on. If an individual banks their infant’s cord blood, and the infant later develops a disease, there is a good chance that the stem cells would have the same weakness. When this occurs, doctors often turn to public cord blood banks for transplant cells, even if the child’s cord blood has been banked, for this reason. The additional factor to this problem is that is the cord blood was banked in a public bank, by the time the disease has been discovered; there would be no way to track the sample with this weakness. So there is a possibility that blood received from a public bank may lead to other problems in the future. This occurrence is very rare. The medical community also has concern with private cord blood bank programs. The likelihood that a child will develop a disease that requires a cord blood transplant is very small. The medical community, and in some parts of the world, the justice system, have ethical issues with charging individuals some much money for the prevention of a disease that will probably not occur. There are some countries that that do not allow private cord blood banking for this reason. There is also the issue of longevity of businesses. In short, what happens to a family’s sample, after they have paid such high prices to store the sample, if the cord blood bank program goes out of business?

Donating cord blood to a public bank is only available in some hospitals. While this process is easy, it is fairly new. Public cord blood banks have only been around since 1998 when a grant was received to further the cord blood donation program. More and more hospitals are becoming able to handle public donations. If public donation is an important option, the family should discuss this with their ob-gyn. If an individual would like to bank the blood privately, they can speak with their ob-gyn, to locate a reputable bank. The collection fee for placenta and umbilical cord blood is roughly $2,950 for collection and processing. A kit is received and the physician performs the procedure. The ob-gyn may charge an additional fee for this procedure. The samples are then sent to the cord blood bank, thoroughly screened and stored. And additional fee of roughly $125 a year is charged for storage. Cord blood can be stored, frozen with nitroglycerin, indefinitely.

Stem cells from collected from the placenta and umbilical cord have great potential for aiding in the treatment of many diseases that would be otherwise fatal. Haematopoiesic stem cell collection, while having some concerns about blood loss, has been declared safe and does not interfere with tradition medical practices during child birth. If cord blood banking is an attractive option, special consideration should be given to genetic and blood disorders in family history, before deciding whether to go with a public or private bank.

Copyright Andrew Wilson knowhow-now.com