Cord Blood Stem Cell Research
The gynecologist's office is full of helpful magazines and pamphlets that give you a mountain of information about what it is like to be pregnant, what to expect when you give birth and how to care for your newborn child. Now, you are reading about places where you can store the cord stem cells from your child or that you can donate these special stem cells to be used in research. You are wondering why these stem cells are so important. The laboratories that are doing cord blood stem cell research know that the stem cells in the cord blood are extremely unique. Doctors have been using these stem cells collected from cord blood since 1988 to help people through difficult medical procedures or to help them recover better after chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Blood collected from the cord at birth contain stem cells that have provided researches with countless examples of how value these stem cells are. Laboratory researchers have determined that stem cells can be used to treat almost 70 different types of diseases and that list is growing as researchers learn more and more about the benefits of the blood collected from cords. There are even establishments that will help you save the cord blood that is in the umbilical cord and placenta. Immediately after your child is born, your doctor can collect this special life enhancing blood and send it to a storage facility. You would always know that the stem cells in the cord blood would be there for your child in the event of an unforeseen disease. This special blood from the cord will contain the necessary stem cells to hopefully provide your child with a complete recovery. If for some reason you do not want to save the cord blood for your own child, you can donate it. The stem cells from the cord blood can and will be used to help treat other people and to possibly save their lives. Cord blood stem cell research will continue for decades as the medical profession perfects its techniques and learns more about the many benefits that can be derived. Eventually, it is hoped that scientists will be able to eliminate all diseases that plaque mankind and that they will be able to help people create replacement organs that might be damaged in an accident or due to a severe illness. The goal of medical community is to provide everyone with longer and healthier lives. Keep listening to the news reports about cord blood stem cell research. One day, you may hear that they finally have the answer to stop the aging process. Think about it, our lifespan may not be estimated at 80 years, we may be able to increase that to 100+ and be able to live happy, healthy and productive lives. |