Should You Store Umbilical Cord Blood After Birth Of Your Child?

It is only recently that researchers have discovered that umbilical cord blood cells can help a child, or youngster to recover from a bone marrow related disease. Umbilical cord blood transplants have been successfully performed on thousands of youngsters suffering from cancer, especially leukemia.

Researchers found that blood that remains in the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells. Stem cells are early cells that are capable of developing into red and white blood cells, and platelets. Cord blood stem cells can also generate other cell types in the body. This discovery was what led to the storing of cord blood, after birth of a child.

Right after the baby is born, the umbilical cord is clamped at both ends and the blood inside it is removed and cryogenically stored. There are certain risks involved in this procedure, however they are minimal. The main danger is that if the umbilical cord is clamped too soon, the baby may be born with insufficient blood volume. However doctors who perform child birth, know when to clamp the umbilical cord and remove the blood.

Parents have two choices regarding storing umbilical cord blood after the birth of their child. They can either arrange to have the blood privately stored, or can store it in a public cord blood bank. Should the parents opt to store it in a private cord blood store bank, they must know what this entails? Firstly the cost of this has to be considered. Private cord blood banks charge from $1000 to $2000 to store the blood. Secondly the parents also have to pay for the kit and the courier charges. Subsequently, they will need to pay an annual maintenance fee. There is no guarantee that the cord blood bank will stay in business, and at some later date the parents may need to transfer the stored cord blood to another facility. Another factor to be considered by parents is that, cord blood banks are not located in every city and state of the United States.  

Should parents opt to donate the cord blood to a public cord blood bank, they will be performing a very useful public service, as that donated cord blood can help to save a child's life. There are no costs involved in donating cord blood to a public cord blood bank.