Umbilical cord blood banking - Pregnancy

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Umbilical cord blood banking

umbilical cord blood ha slife saving stem cells

Stored umbilical cord blood could save his life later on.

Banking umbilical cord blood is a growing trend as the stem cells umbilical cord blood contains are proving to successfully treat a wide range of severe diseases and disorders and there is even more hope for future uses of these stem cells. However, the use of umbilical cord blood and its stem cells is still considered an experimental field of medicine.

The stem cells in umbilical cord blood are not embryonic, which means they aren’t controversial. However, they are the building blocks of our bodies with the ability to treat leukemia, blood disorders, developmental problems and the immune system after chemotherapy. Cord blood has also begun to be used in regenerative medicine to treat brain injuries, cerebral palsy and hearing loss and there is hope that it will soon be useful in treating many diseases and disorders that currently have no cure.

Cord blood is collected at birth after the your baby’s umbilical cord has been cut and clamped. A needle is inserted into the umbilical cord to draw out the blood into a collection bag that is then transported to the cord blood bank. It takes about 5 minutes and can be done after a vaginal and C-section births. However, the decision to donate or store your umbilical cord blood must be taken early on in your pregnancy, usually early in the second trimester of your pregnancy.

Cord blood is frozen for storage and isn’t currently known to have an expiry date, which means whenever you or a family member need to use the cord blood it will be accessible as long as you have privately stored it.

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