These days, we might have come across brochures or ads on internet about an offer to preserve the umbilical cord blood of the baby for ‘biological insurance’. If blood is not properly and timely stored, it is likely to be discarded. So why not preserve it?
Understand the reason
Chances are quite slim that your child or one of your child’s siblings will ever need it. You may perhaps spend a fortune to store cord blood in perpetuity. It is the blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. It contains stem cells, which can be used to treat cancer and genetic & blood disorders. You can know about the benefits of cord blood by doing some research.
Know the sources
The other 2 sources are bone marrow and blood circulating in the body. Private banks charge annually for storage. They market their services to expecting parents. If you are signed up with a bank, they will send you a kit which your doctor or midwife will use to collect cord blood & cord tissue.
But this is not made mandatory by the medical fraternity for parents to periodically store their baby’s cord blood. Several conditions cannot be treated by the patient’s cord blood, because the disorder is also present in the patient’s cord blood. Thus, stem cells from the healthy donor are to be used. The main advantage being that the donor & recipient don’t need to match for a successful transplant. But if you have an elder child with a deadly disease which can be treated with a cord blood transplant, then you may store the new born baby’s cord at a public baby’s umbilical cord blood bank.
The procedure
The organization which coordinates cord blood collection for US public banks is said to enlist seven banks to store cord blood. Some of these may bill your insurance company for the service, but others may offer it for a nominal cost or for free.
You can also donate it to a blood bank, if you think not to store your baby’s cord blood. It does not take any money & is also painless to the newborn since the blood is collected after severing the cord from the baby’s body. You can discuss with your doctor or midwife between the 28th and 34th week of your pregnancy with regards to donating cord blood. They will give you proper advice and help to meet the guidelines for donation.
Eligibility for making baby cord blood donations
Not everyone will be eligible for donating blood. The reasons are given below:
- If you’re having twins, especially fraternal twins, having different tissue types. Chances of cord blood from each umbilical cord may get mixed up.
- Donation is not accepted if she is below 18 years of age.
- If one has cancer.
- If there is found blood infection or infection in umbilical cord.
- Had an organ or tissue transplant within the previous 12 months.
- The baby has a genetic disorder such as cystic fibrosis or Down syndrome or abnormalities of the arms, legs, hands or feet
It is necessary to ensure that the hospital collects baby cord blood.
