Why Should You Have Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells Collected?The collection and banking of umbilical cord blood stem cells is becoming increasingly commonplace. It's a straightforward procedure and once you realize the benefits for your child, you may well decide that this is right for you. Your child becoming gravely ill or having a serious accident will hopefully be far from your mind at the time of his or her birth. But if you had a simple option to future-proof their life in a way which is painless to both of you - wouldn't you do it? Collecting umbilical cord blood stem cells collected is just that option.
It is also possible that transplants of umbilical cord blood stem cells could benefit not only that child but siblings too. There have been cases of stem cells gathered in this way benefiting siblings. That is not to turn one child into a factory of spare parts for another, but the umbilical cord, detached from them and frozen cryogenically is a useful source of invaluable blood stem cells. Normally, the placenta, from which these umbilical cord blood stem cells are collected, would just be discarded and therefore the opportunities wasted. Advances in medical knowledge have made storage of these umbilical cord blood stem cells easy and practicable in several specially designed facilities. Why are these umbilical blood stem cells useful? The stem cells found in the otherwise discarded placenta can form blood, just as bone marrow can. These umbilical cord blood stem cells are capable of forming all the three types of mature blood cell - red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. As medical research advances, these umbilical cord blood stem cells may also be capable of creating other cell types. These could then, in theory, be used to cure all manner of diseases and medical conditions which your baby may later suffer from. Sometimes the cures can be the problem as radiotherapy and chemotherapy actually also destroy healthy cells. Potentially, the umbilical cord blood stem cells could be used to replace these lost cells by something which is not foreign but which is completely natural to the particular body. They are a very viable alternative to a bone marrow transplant from a sibling, for instance. They then go on to produce more new, healthy blood cells which will then go on to strengthen the child's immune system. Collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells is possible in both C-section and natural births. So is it worth it? The chances are that the banked stem cells will never be used - and that is the hope of all parents, but given the ease of the procedure, it is certainly something worth thinking about. But bear in mind that cord blood stem cell banking is itself still in its infancy, so you may have trouble finding a facility for this near you. However, until more people demand this service, it's also true that the number of these stem cell banks will not increase. Given the ease of the procedure itself, and its potential positive effects, it may well be worth enquiring if it's an option in your area. |