The Hematopoietic stem cells found in cord blood can rebuild and
replenish the body’s blood and immune systems. Other forms of cells
that Hematopoietic stem cells can differentiate into include:
This ability has lead to their use in treating over 80 life-threatening diseases with the first cord blood transplant taking place in 1988.
A preferred source of stem cells.
Cord blood stem cells are incredibly easy to collect and cryogenically freeze. Alternative sources of stem cells, such as from bone marrow, require an invasive procedure whereas cord blood stem cells can be drawn from the cut umbilical cord in less than five minutes. Newborn stem cells are younger and more flexible than stem cells taken from an adult, which gives them better regenerative abilities.
Siblings looking out for each other. In some situations, a cord blood transplant from a donor, such as a sibling, may be required, and there is a higher chance of survival when using stem cells from a related donor. Siblings or other family members that are a close enough HLA match can benefit from the cord blood. There is a 25% chance that a sibling will be a perfect HLA match, a 50% chance that they will be a partial match, and a 25% chance that they will be no match at all. Banking multiple children’s cord blood increases the chance that cord blood will be a match in case a transplant is required.
Future Uses in Medicine
The unique properties of cord blood stem cells means that they can potentially treat even more diseases. Some of the diseases being investigated include:
(http://www.corcell.com/benefits-of-umbilical-cord-blood/)
A cord blood bank is a facility which stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Both private and public cord blood banks have developed since the mid-to-late 1990s in response to the potential for cord blood in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems.
Public banks accept donations to be used for anyone in need. The percentage of public bank donations discarded as medical waste is estimated to be between 60 to 80%. Traditionally, public cord blood banking has been more widely accepted by the medical community in part because paying to save the cord blood privately is not financially feasible for many families. However, there are very strict regulations which public banks need to follow in order to enable the donated units to be added to a registry. Generally, an expectant mother interested in donation should contact the bank before the 34th week of pregnancy. Once the blood is donated, it loses all identifying information after a short period of initial testing. Families are not able retrieve their own blood after it has been donated.
Banking cord blood in a private umbilical cord blood bank, such as Cord Blood Registry or Americord Registry, is a personal choice made by both parents. Private banks store cord blood with a link to the identity of the donor, so that the family may retrieve it later if it is needed. The parents have custody of the cord blood until the child is an adult. The cord blood might someday be needed by the donor baby, or it could be used by a relative who is a close enough match to receive a transplant from the donor, typically a sibling. Private banks charge a fee to preserve the harvested cord blood for family biological insurance.
Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells which can form red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Cord blood cells are currently used to treat blood and immune system related genetic diseases, cancers, and blood disorders.
It is important to ensure the credentials of any potential private bank. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates cord blood under the category of “Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue Based-Products”.
Cord blood transplants require less stringent matching between the tissue types of the donor and patient, known as their HLA types Human leukocyte antigen. Bone marrow transplants require a complete match on six key antigens, which are measures of graft-versus-host reaction, known as a 6/6 match. Cord blood transplants achieve the same medical success with only a 4/6 match. HLA type is inherited from both parents, so siblings are particularly likely to be a match, and people from the same ethnic heritage are more likely to match. Minority ethnic groups have difficulty finding a perfectly matched transplant donor.
Studies have found that allogeneic transplants have better outcome when the donor and patient are related. The odds that two siblings will have the 6/6 match required for a bone marrow transplant are 25%. The odds that two siblings will have the 4/6 match required for a cord blood transplant are 39%.
The policy of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) supports public cord blood banking (similar to collection and banking of other blood products, i.e. altruistic, anyone can use it), as well as stating it should be considered under certain circumstances.
The policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that "private storage of cord blood as 'biological insurance' is unwise" unless there is a family member with a current or potential need to undergo a stem cell transplantation. However, this opinion is over 10 years old and authored by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg and does not account for recent therapeutic uses and research. Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg now publicly supports public and private cord blood banking. Private storage of one's own cord blood is unlawful in Italy and France due in part to conservative views on stem cell and genetic research, and it is also discouraged in some other European countries.
The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation states that public donation of cord blood is encouraged where possible, the probability of using one's own cord blood is very small, and therefore storage of cord blood for personal use is not recommended, and family member banking (collecting and storing cord blood for a family member) is recommended when there is a sibling with a disease that may be treated successfully with allogeneic transplant.
Saving your child’s stem cells is an investment towards your family’s future health; thus, its benefits cannot be measured in financial terms. However, if one must make economic justifications, the cost of storing cord blood and tissue pales in comparison to the many expenses associated with raising a child today, such as the cost of child care and education. The potential return on this investment is paramount as it can save the lives of your loved ones.
(http://www.cryo-cell.com/cord-blood/banking-benefits)
n general, doctors think that cord blood should be stored only when a family has a medical reason to do it. An example might be if you already have a child who could be helped by a stem cell transfusion.
The reason is that doctors don't think there's enough benefit for most families. Extracting and storing cord blood can be an awkward procedure to have done privately, and it is usually expensive.
It's easy to understand why cord blood storage may be a concern to any parent, regardless of medical need. Blood from your baby's umbilical cord contains stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of other cells in your baby's body.
Stem cells can develop into blood cells which fight infection, carry oxygen around the body and help with blood clotting. These same blood cells are the ones which are affected in diseases such as leukaemia and other conditions of the blood, such as sickle cell anaemia.
Your child's stored cord blood would be a perfect match for him at any stage in his life. And there's a good chance of it being a match for your other children, if you have any. Diseases other than blood disorders can be treated with stem cells, including some metabolic disorders and immune system disorders.
This may sound like a strong argument for storing cord blood. The trouble is that cord blood has to be prepared and frozen soon after the birth of your baby. There are only a handful of NHS hospitals which do this.
You could ask your midwife what your local hospital's policy is. NHS hospitals that do store cord blood generally do so for a bank that benefits everyone, rather than for individual families.
There are a growing number of private companies which charge a fee for collecting and storing cord blood. This blood is stored for possible use within your family. The charge for this service is anything up to £1,500.
Private companies offering a cord blood storage service will naturally talk up the potential benefits of their service. When you're about to have a baby, you may be worrying about what the future holds. It's easy to feel anxious about your child or children's future health when you're feeling like this. The reality is that most families will never have need for cord blood from a direct relative.
Another concern is that collecting cord blood interferes with a mum and baby's birth experience. Cord blood has to be taken while or just after the placenta is delivered. This is a time when your midwives or obstetrician will be busy caring for you and your baby.
Your baby's cord will have to be clamped early and blood taken from the cord using several syringes. You'll need to arrange in advance for a specialist who is trained to take blood (phlebotomist) to be at the birth. Your hospital will have to agree in advance for the phlebotomist to be on its premises.
If you want to go ahead with cord blood storage, it's best to find out as much as you can during your pregnancy. You'll need to weigh up the benefits and risks to you, your baby and to others.
Some mums feel it is more important to push out the placenta themselves (natural third stage) with delayed cord clamping than to collect cord blood.
Others, who can afford it, feel that their baby or other family members could benefit in the future if they did collect the blood.
In some circumstances, collecting cord blood isn't safe. So if your baby is born prematurely, or you're having twins or an emergency caesarean, the decision will be taken out of your hands.
Your baby's umbilical cord blood is a rich source of special blood cells called stem cells. These cells are the body's building blocks for blood, organs, tissue, and the immune system and are genetically unique to each baby. When you bank your baby's cord blood, you preserve a unique biological resource that is like a self-repair kit for your child and other possible family members.
A growing number of families everyday are choosing to bank their babies umbilical cord blood as a potential cure for dozens of cancers, blood disorders, immune and genetic diseases. This is especially true for families that have a history of disease. StemCyte offers many options to help families just like yours afford to save this precious resource.
There are many decisions to make during your pregnancy as well as preparation for the newest addition. Saving your baby's stem cells should be one of them. Cord blood can only be collected in the first few minutes after birth, so you must make this decision by your 3rd trimester, if not sooner, so that you have your collection kit with you to bring to the hospital. In some instances, you can get a collection kit when you arrive at the hospital. Not all hospitals have this option, so you really should enroll sooner, if possible.
Doctors have increasingly turned to cord blood stem cells as a life-saving alternative to bone marrow transplants. There is a lower probability of graft vs. host disease (GVHD) and a greater likelihood of finding an appropriate tissue type match because the match does not need to be as exact as for bone marrow.
Stem cell research is exploring new applications for treatment every day. This research may prove effective in the future treatment of many common diseases and injuries that plague today's society, including spinal cord injury, stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, and HIV.
Previous odds someone in your family needed a transplant were 1 in 2700. Just a few years later those odds increased to 1 in 400. These odds however, do not include emerging therapies.
Researchers are already studying the effects that cord blood stem cells have on spinal cord injury, brain injury, type 1 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even HIV. As stem cell science advances, the importance of saving these cells increases exponentially.
Private cord blood banking enables you to store your baby's stem cells for a guaranteed perfect genetic match with your child. Since cord blood can be stored indefinitely at this point, private cord blood banking is both a safeguard against diseases treatable today and a real hope for more treatment possibilities tomorrow.
Additionally, families with an ethnic or mixed-race background may have difficulty finding a match should they ever need a stem cell transplant. Most public banks have a larger Caucasian volume of cord blood units than any other type. Although StemCyte has one of the largest, most ethnically diverse cord blood inventories in the world. More families are still choosing to save their newborn's cord blood for peace of mind.
(https://www.stemcyte.com/why-save-cord-blood/)
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Cord Blood: A Medical Resource
When you store your baby’s cord blood, you are storing an important medical resource. As of 2014, there have been over 1 million Hematopoietic stem cell transplants and 30,000 cord blood transplants performed worldwide, and that number is increasing every day.A preferred source of stem cells.
Cord blood stem cells are incredibly easy to collect and cryogenically freeze. Alternative sources of stem cells, such as from bone marrow, require an invasive procedure whereas cord blood stem cells can be drawn from the cut umbilical cord in less than five minutes. Newborn stem cells are younger and more flexible than stem cells taken from an adult, which gives them better regenerative abilities.
Who Can Use Cord Blood Stem Cells?
Protecting baby’s health. A baby using his or her own cord blood will always be a 100% match for his or her own stem cells. However, sometimes families are unable to collect cord blood from the first child, and some diseases are genetic, making using one’s own cord blood inept.Siblings looking out for each other. In some situations, a cord blood transplant from a donor, such as a sibling, may be required, and there is a higher chance of survival when using stem cells from a related donor. Siblings or other family members that are a close enough HLA match can benefit from the cord blood. There is a 25% chance that a sibling will be a perfect HLA match, a 50% chance that they will be a partial match, and a 25% chance that they will be no match at all. Banking multiple children’s cord blood increases the chance that cord blood will be a match in case a transplant is required.
Future Uses in Medicine
The unique properties of cord blood stem cells means that they can potentially treat even more diseases. Some of the diseases being investigated include:
- Autism (1 in 88 children are diagnosed with Autism in the United States)
- Brain Injury (564,000 children treated for brain injuries in the emergency room)
- Cerebral Palsy (A leading cause of childhood onset disability)
- Type 1 Diabetes (15,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes every year)
(http://www.corcell.com/benefits-of-umbilical-cord-blood/)
A cord blood bank is a facility which stores umbilical cord blood for future use. Both private and public cord blood banks have developed since the mid-to-late 1990s in response to the potential for cord blood in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems.
Public banks accept donations to be used for anyone in need. The percentage of public bank donations discarded as medical waste is estimated to be between 60 to 80%. Traditionally, public cord blood banking has been more widely accepted by the medical community in part because paying to save the cord blood privately is not financially feasible for many families. However, there are very strict regulations which public banks need to follow in order to enable the donated units to be added to a registry. Generally, an expectant mother interested in donation should contact the bank before the 34th week of pregnancy. Once the blood is donated, it loses all identifying information after a short period of initial testing. Families are not able retrieve their own blood after it has been donated.
Banking cord blood in a private umbilical cord blood bank, such as Cord Blood Registry or Americord Registry, is a personal choice made by both parents. Private banks store cord blood with a link to the identity of the donor, so that the family may retrieve it later if it is needed. The parents have custody of the cord blood until the child is an adult. The cord blood might someday be needed by the donor baby, or it could be used by a relative who is a close enough match to receive a transplant from the donor, typically a sibling. Private banks charge a fee to preserve the harvested cord blood for family biological insurance.
Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells, progenitor cells which can form red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Cord blood cells are currently used to treat blood and immune system related genetic diseases, cancers, and blood disorders.
Private banks
Private banking is costly to insurers and private parties, averaging. The ability to use the cord blood may also depend on the long-term commercial viability of the enterprise. Accordingly, whether cord blood banking is a worthwhile expenditure for the expectant parent depends in part upon whether the expenditure is offset by the likelihood of ultimately using the cord blood and by the benefits of such use.It is important to ensure the credentials of any potential private bank. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates cord blood under the category of “Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue Based-Products”.
Cord blood transplants require less stringent matching between the tissue types of the donor and patient, known as their HLA types Human leukocyte antigen. Bone marrow transplants require a complete match on six key antigens, which are measures of graft-versus-host reaction, known as a 6/6 match. Cord blood transplants achieve the same medical success with only a 4/6 match. HLA type is inherited from both parents, so siblings are particularly likely to be a match, and people from the same ethnic heritage are more likely to match. Minority ethnic groups have difficulty finding a perfectly matched transplant donor.
Studies have found that allogeneic transplants have better outcome when the donor and patient are related. The odds that two siblings will have the 6/6 match required for a bone marrow transplant are 25%. The odds that two siblings will have the 4/6 match required for a cord blood transplant are 39%.
The policy of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) supports public cord blood banking (similar to collection and banking of other blood products, i.e. altruistic, anyone can use it), as well as stating it should be considered under certain circumstances.
The policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that "private storage of cord blood as 'biological insurance' is unwise" unless there is a family member with a current or potential need to undergo a stem cell transplantation. However, this opinion is over 10 years old and authored by Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg and does not account for recent therapeutic uses and research. Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg now publicly supports public and private cord blood banking. Private storage of one's own cord blood is unlawful in Italy and France due in part to conservative views on stem cell and genetic research, and it is also discouraged in some other European countries.
The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation states that public donation of cord blood is encouraged where possible, the probability of using one's own cord blood is very small, and therefore storage of cord blood for personal use is not recommended, and family member banking (collecting and storing cord blood for a family member) is recommended when there is a sibling with a disease that may be treated successfully with allogeneic transplant.
Benefits of Cord Blood and Cord Tissue Stem Cells
-
Bolstering and Reproducing Blood and Immune System
Cord blood stem cells are used to treat nearly 80 debilitating diseases
and have been used in more than 30,000 transplants. In the event your
child contracts a disease, which must be treated with chemotherapy or
radiation, there is a probability of a negative impact on the immune
system. If you have previously banked your child’s cord blood and
tissue, the preserved umbilical cord blood stem cells may be used to
bolster and repopulate your child’s blood and immune system.
-
Easy Extraction
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood and cord tissue can easily be
extracted, resulting in no risk or pain for the mother or baby.
Alternatively, bone marrow collection is an invasive procedure and
requires general anesthesia which comes with its inherent risks.
-
A Perfect Lifetime Self Match and Probable Sibling Match
Often, matched stem cells, which are necessary for transplant, are
difficult to obtain due to strict matching requirements, but your baby’s
cord stem cells will be a perfect lifetime match for him/her.
Your child’s cord blood stem cells also have a 25% chance of a perfect
match for a sibling and a 50% chance for a partial match. Using
genetically related stem cells, which are free from the disease being
treated, often results in successful transplants with fewer
complications for a blood related family member.
-
High Rate of Engraftment
Cord blood stem cells have a high rate of engraftment (transplanted
cells reproducing in the host) and are more tolerant of HLA mismatches
than bone marrow transplants. This characteristic results in a
significantly reduced rate of post-transplant Graft-Versus-Host Disease.
-
Immediately Available for Treatment With No Retrieval Fee
Family banked cord blood stem cells are readily accessible, allowing
treatment to begin earlier if required, with no time wasted in the
search and matching process which are required for publicly banked stem
cells.
When you bank with Cryo-Cell, there is no cost to retrieve your baby’s
stored stem cells if they are ever needed for transplant. However, there
may be a fee associated with further testing required for transplant
and transportation of the product to the transplant facility.
-
Rarely Contaminated with Latent Viruses
Cord blood stem cells are rarely contaminated with latent viruses,
which results in better acceptance by the body than stem cells from bone
marrow. For this reason, cord blood and cord tissue stem cells are
dubbed ‘privileged’, for their unique characteristic of being unexposed
to most diseases.
-
Promising Applications in Regenerative Medicine
We are living in the exciting era of regenerative medicine. Stem cells
are currently being studied in numerous clinical trials for regenerative
medicine, treating diseases unrelated to the blood or immune system.
Many of these studies involve cells from the umbilical cord blood and/or
cord tissue.
New regenerative medicine uses stem cells to rebuild cardiac tissue,
repair damage due to stroke or spinal cord injuries, reverse the effects
of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's,
and build new organs. While the research is in its early stages, the
possibilities are extremely promising. By banking your baby’s umbilical
cord blood and tissue stem cells today, you increase his or her access
to these health technologies tomorrow.
Saving your child’s stem cells is an investment towards your family’s future health; thus, its benefits cannot be measured in financial terms. However, if one must make economic justifications, the cost of storing cord blood and tissue pales in comparison to the many expenses associated with raising a child today, such as the cost of child care and education. The potential return on this investment is paramount as it can save the lives of your loved ones.
(http://www.cryo-cell.com/cord-blood/banking-benefits)
Expectant
parents do all kinds of things for safety's sake. They plug up empty
electrical sockets, childproof their cabinets, pore over car seat research, and measure the space between the bars of hand-me-down cribs -- all months before their son or daughter is born.
And
some are now choosing a procedure that, they feel, could further
protect their children from harm: umbilical cord blood banking.
The
procedure takes blood from the umbilical cord at birth and stores it
for a fee in a private blood bank. (Public banks are another option -
see below.) Because this blood is rich in stem cells
-- cells that have the ability to transform into just about any human
cell -- it could someday be used as treatment if your child ever became
ill with certain diseases. It might also be useful for a sick sibling or
relative. Banking cord blood is a way of preserving potentially
life-saving cells that usually get thrown away after birth.
But
is banking worth it for most people? The banks argue that it's a form
of "insurance" in case your children ever get sick. However, many
medical associations -- like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists -- don't support the
practice for most people. They say that possible benefits are too
remote to justify the costs.
"I don't tell any of my patients not
to do it, but I point out that the odds that they will ever use the
stored cord blood are very low," says Stephen Feig, professor of
pediatrics at UCLA. "It's a very expensive insurance policy."
So
the important thing is to make an informed choice. You need to know the
benefits and costs of cord blood banking before you make any decisions.
Why Is Cord Blood Worth Saving?
Stem
cells are immature cells that can both reproduce themselves and have
the potential to turn into other types of cells. There are several
types. The ones in umbilical cord blood and bone marrow are called
hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs).
Some people (usually children and, sometimes, adults of small size) with certain diseases -- like leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell
anemia, and others - can be injected with these HPC stem cells to
replenish their blood supply with new, healthy cells. The stem cells can
also help the body recover from some cancer treatments like
chemotherapy or radiation.
No one debates that cord
blood cells can be lifesaving. "Cord blood is a proven, effective source
of blood-forming stem cells for people with certain diseases," Feig
tells WebMD.
According to the Institute of Medicine,
HPCs have saved more than 20,000 lives in the U.S. in recent years,
although the majority are from bone marrow transplants rather than cord blood. There have only been about 6,000 reported cord blood transplants.
(http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/features/banking-your-babys-cord-blood)n general, doctors think that cord blood should be stored only when a family has a medical reason to do it. An example might be if you already have a child who could be helped by a stem cell transfusion.
The reason is that doctors don't think there's enough benefit for most families. Extracting and storing cord blood can be an awkward procedure to have done privately, and it is usually expensive.
It's easy to understand why cord blood storage may be a concern to any parent, regardless of medical need. Blood from your baby's umbilical cord contains stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of other cells in your baby's body.
Stem cells can develop into blood cells which fight infection, carry oxygen around the body and help with blood clotting. These same blood cells are the ones which are affected in diseases such as leukaemia and other conditions of the blood, such as sickle cell anaemia.
Your child's stored cord blood would be a perfect match for him at any stage in his life. And there's a good chance of it being a match for your other children, if you have any. Diseases other than blood disorders can be treated with stem cells, including some metabolic disorders and immune system disorders.
This may sound like a strong argument for storing cord blood. The trouble is that cord blood has to be prepared and frozen soon after the birth of your baby. There are only a handful of NHS hospitals which do this.
You could ask your midwife what your local hospital's policy is. NHS hospitals that do store cord blood generally do so for a bank that benefits everyone, rather than for individual families.
There are a growing number of private companies which charge a fee for collecting and storing cord blood. This blood is stored for possible use within your family. The charge for this service is anything up to £1,500.
Private companies offering a cord blood storage service will naturally talk up the potential benefits of their service. When you're about to have a baby, you may be worrying about what the future holds. It's easy to feel anxious about your child or children's future health when you're feeling like this. The reality is that most families will never have need for cord blood from a direct relative.
Another concern is that collecting cord blood interferes with a mum and baby's birth experience. Cord blood has to be taken while or just after the placenta is delivered. This is a time when your midwives or obstetrician will be busy caring for you and your baby.
Your baby's cord will have to be clamped early and blood taken from the cord using several syringes. You'll need to arrange in advance for a specialist who is trained to take blood (phlebotomist) to be at the birth. Your hospital will have to agree in advance for the phlebotomist to be on its premises.
If you want to go ahead with cord blood storage, it's best to find out as much as you can during your pregnancy. You'll need to weigh up the benefits and risks to you, your baby and to others.
Some mums feel it is more important to push out the placenta themselves (natural third stage) with delayed cord clamping than to collect cord blood.
Others, who can afford it, feel that their baby or other family members could benefit in the future if they did collect the blood.
In some circumstances, collecting cord blood isn't safe. So if your baby is born prematurely, or you're having twins or an emergency caesarean, the decision will be taken out of your hands.
Your baby's umbilical cord blood is a rich source of special blood cells called stem cells. These cells are the body's building blocks for blood, organs, tissue, and the immune system and are genetically unique to each baby. When you bank your baby's cord blood, you preserve a unique biological resource that is like a self-repair kit for your child and other possible family members.
A growing number of families everyday are choosing to bank their babies umbilical cord blood as a potential cure for dozens of cancers, blood disorders, immune and genetic diseases. This is especially true for families that have a history of disease. StemCyte offers many options to help families just like yours afford to save this precious resource.
There are many decisions to make during your pregnancy as well as preparation for the newest addition. Saving your baby's stem cells should be one of them. Cord blood can only be collected in the first few minutes after birth, so you must make this decision by your 3rd trimester, if not sooner, so that you have your collection kit with you to bring to the hospital. In some instances, you can get a collection kit when you arrive at the hospital. Not all hospitals have this option, so you really should enroll sooner, if possible.
2. Cord Blood Stem Cells Hold the Power to Cure Today
Cord blood provides a rich source of stem cells for use in many situations where bone marrow is considered today. Cord blood stem cells are used in disease treatment to fight over 80 diseases including many forms of malignancies such as leukemia, autoimmune diseases, lupus, and inheritable diseases such as sickle cell anemia.Doctors have increasingly turned to cord blood stem cells as a life-saving alternative to bone marrow transplants. There is a lower probability of graft vs. host disease (GVHD) and a greater likelihood of finding an appropriate tissue type match because the match does not need to be as exact as for bone marrow.
Stem cell research is exploring new applications for treatment every day. This research may prove effective in the future treatment of many common diseases and injuries that plague today's society, including spinal cord injury, stroke, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, and HIV.
3. Cord Blood Stem Cells are Genetically Unique
Your baby's cord blood cells are a perfect match for your baby, should he or she ever need a stem cell transplant. In technical terms, it is a perfect 6 out of 6 HLA tissue type match, ideal for transplantation. Your baby's stem cells have a 50% chance of being a match for a sibling. Cord blood stem cells may also be a match for a parent.4. Bank on the Future of Emerging Research
With successful transplants and breakthroughs in stem cell research occurring every day, more and more expectant parents have chosen to bank their newborn's cord blood.Previous odds someone in your family needed a transplant were 1 in 2700. Just a few years later those odds increased to 1 in 400. These odds however, do not include emerging therapies.
Researchers are already studying the effects that cord blood stem cells have on spinal cord injury, brain injury, type 1 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even HIV. As stem cell science advances, the importance of saving these cells increases exponentially.
Private cord blood banking enables you to store your baby's stem cells for a guaranteed perfect genetic match with your child. Since cord blood can be stored indefinitely at this point, private cord blood banking is both a safeguard against diseases treatable today and a real hope for more treatment possibilities tomorrow.
5. Your Family History Does Matter
If your family has a history of disease that can be treatable with cord blood, the odds that your baby or their sibling may need a cord blood transplant increases. The number of diseases treated continues to grow with the research efforts of companies like StemCyte. We strongly encourage families to bank cord blood from all of their pregnancies in the event a sibling transplant may be a better or only treatment than an autologous treatment.Additionally, families with an ethnic or mixed-race background may have difficulty finding a match should they ever need a stem cell transplant. Most public banks have a larger Caucasian volume of cord blood units than any other type. Although StemCyte has one of the largest, most ethnically diverse cord blood inventories in the world. More families are still choosing to save their newborn's cord blood for peace of mind.
(https://www.stemcyte.com/why-save-cord-blood/)
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