Parents-to-be are trying to protect environmental conditions. They close the open sockets, nail all sorts of protective devices for cabinets and shelves in the house, look for a special chair for the baby in the car, to the nearest centimeter think over the size of a portable wheelchair – long before the birth of their child.
And some are taking a positive decision on the procedure, which may in the future save the health of their baby: the store of child`s cord blood in the blood bank.
The procedure involves taking blood from the umbilical cord at birth and its storage for a fee in the blood bank. Cord blood contains a large number of stem cells that can grow in virtually any human cell. Thus they can be useful if your child will need treatment of certain diseases in the future. Blood may also be necessary in case of illness of a second child or any of the relatives. Storing of cord blood in the bank is a way to store the cells, which may in the future save the man’s life. Most often after birth such cells are simply discarded.
Storing cord blood in the blood bank: arguments “for”
Despite the fact that stem cells from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow are the of the same type, cord blood cells still have certain advantages. Cord blood cells are less mature than bone marrow cells of an adult, thus likelihood that they will take root in someone else’s body is higher. Many scientists believe that stem cells from umbilical cord blood will be more productive than bone marrow stem cells of 50-year-old man.
Taking of the umbilical cord blood is a simple and painless procedure than taking a sample of bone marrow.
For example, if a relative is sick with leukemia, sickle cell anemia or other blood disorder, storing of cord blood makes sense – for a child or any other family member. In some cases, such as when a child is sick and needs a transplantation, a procedure may be paid by the state or insurance companies.
Storing of cord blood in the bloodbank: the arguments “against”
Umbilical cord blood, which is stored in the bank, has certain “restrictions” on the use: Even if a child is sick, the stem cells do not always help. If the baby will suffer any genetic disease, frozen umbilical cord blood does not help in the treatment, as it will have the same genetic features that caused the disease.
