Is The Process Of Storing Umbilical Cord Blood After Birth Useful?

It sure is! Every parent wants to protect their child and why not? Becoming a parent is the most wonderful feeling in the world, and you don’t know the feeling till you hold your baby in your arms. This is the 21st century, the age of technology and awareness. We have to be proactive and be prepared for every situation that comes our way.

Even though it is rare, children do sometimes develop childhood cancers, and other inherited diseases most of which need stem cells in order to be cured.
So where will you get the stem cells, if God forbid, you are ever in such a situation? Well you can make do with the bone marrow of a family member, if the cells match and the process is quite complex. Have you ever heard of storing umbilical cord blood after birth? It is a procedure where the blood is collected from the umbilical cord after birth, treated and then stored in the blood bank in case of emergency. This process is simple and you need to inform your physician before the delivery that you want to store your baby’s umbilical cord blood.

 It will be up to the doctors to conduct the procedure. The umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells as the baby’s organs, tissues and body is developed by it. However, stem cells are found in bone marrow. So the benefits of storing umbilical cord blood are countless, as according to research there are almost seventy diseases, which can be cured by stem cells. The best part is that the procedure is simple, and the blood can be stored for as long as you like.

Bone marrow procedures require perfect matches to be successful, and finding a match takes time. Storing umbilical cord blood is a painless and harmless procedure for the mother and child. Donors of bone marrow have to undergo a surgical procedure, and they might suffer from pain and discomfort as the stem cells are usually collected from the spine. Graft vs. Host Disease is a complication, which may occur because of a bone marrow disease. GVHD occurs when the cells of the donor attack the recipient cells and can be fatal.  Storing umbilical cord blood after birth may cost you extra but, for parents their child’s health is much more important.