Parents' Guide Cord Blood: Basic Facts

Cord blood banking is a hot topic with people all over the world, today. The need for a parents' guide cord blood is being felt everywhere. This is, especially, a topic of interest for parents to be. Most of the information that people possess is hearsay or got from unreliable sources which leads to many misconceptions.

The right information is extremely important. The following is a guide to cord blood and cord blood banking:

What Is Cord Blood?

Cord blood is short for umbilical cord blood. As per studies and researches, cord blood can help cure blood disorders and is especially beneficial in treating genetic blood disorders such as leukemia or the Alzheimer's disease.

What Is Its Importance?

The primary reason why cord blood is so beneficial is that it contains special undifferentiated stem cells. Stem cells are the most basic form of cells which have not morphed into any of the 300 types of cells that the body uses for specific purposes. As a result, stem cells are considered to be perfect for curing blood related genetic diseases. Use of cord blood stem cells is much like using bone marrow cells for curing diseases.

How Is It Harvested And Its Effects:

The collection of cord blood does not affect the delivery of the baby in any way. The collection by itself is simple. Once the umbilical cord is cut, it is clamped and the blood in the cord is harvested to be transported as soon as possible for storage. Subsequently, the blood is tested for inherent genetic or congenital defects and stored. The cord blood is usually stored in a cryogenic state i.e. it is flash frozen.

What Is Cord Blood Banking?

Cord blood banking is done mainly because the undeveloped stem cells have the potential to be used later for the treatment of genetic blood related disorders. There are two types of cord blood banks - private and public. Private banks charge money for storing the cord blood, but keep it exclusively for the needs of the family that is paying for the storage. This gives the family security that in the situation where a family member requires any type of stem cell treatment, there will always be a supply of stem cells. On the other hand, public cord blood banks do not charge any money but do not guarantee any exclusivity either. Public banks provide the stored cord blood to anyone in need.

There are many false beliefs among people regarding cord blood banking, which is why this parents' guide cord blood has been formulated. It is ideal to analyze all the aspects of any process before going ahead with it, so that one does not regret the same later.