Benefits Of Storing Umbilical Cord Blood After Birth

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that is left behind in the cord after a baby is born. When a baby is delivered, it is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord which is then cut. In the process of storing umbilical cord blood after birth, blood is drained from this cord and stored for later use.

Many parents are now opting for this procedure, as it has a number of benefits. Although this procedure is not cheap, parents are ready to make the extra investment, because it can help save their child’s life in the future if need be. Doctors are also advising people to consider storing umbilical cord blood after birth, as it has a lot of advantages.

The first advantage is that, cord blood can be used in place of bone marrow transplant. Extracting bone marrow is a very painful and difficult procedure, and if you have cord blood, then you do not need to make your family members go through the bone marrow transplant procedure if need be. If your child is ill at any point in life and needs a bone marrow transplant, then all you need to do is use the cord blood and the donor will not have to go through painful surgeries. Storing cord blood is painless, and causes no harm or pain to the child or mother.

Another great advantage of storing cord blood is that, if you ever need a bone marrow or stem cell donor for your child, you will not have to wait and test numerous people. Many people die of diseases, which can be cured, just because they are not able to find a donor in time. It can take more than two months to find a matching bone marrow from a donor, and sometimes you might never be lucky enough to find one. By storing umbilical cord blood after birth, you make sure that whenever your child needs a donor, all you have to do is use the cord blood which can be available in a few hours.

Many times even if a donor is found, there are serious complications and risks after surgery, and the bone marrow might not even suit your child’s body, which can be fatal. Therefore, it is always advised to store umbilical cord blood, as it has the potential to save lives.