Why should you be storing umbilical cord blood after birth?

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about storing umbilical cord blood after birth. This is a new procedure that many parents are now choosing to do, and you can also do this if you are going to be new parents.

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that is extracted from the umbilical cord after blood. In regular cases, the umbilical cord is simply discarded after the baby is born, but in this procedure the cord is saved so that blood can be stored from it. This blood is extracted through the use of syringes or can simply be drained from the cord. This procedure can be done in both regular and C section births, and is completely safe for both the mother and the baby.

Storing umbilical cord blood after birth offers a number of benefits which is why it is something you should be thinking about. Even if your child is perfectly healthy at birth and there are no complications, there may be chances that he may be seriously ill later on at any point in life. Many children are diagnosed with diseases like leukemia and that can be possibly life threatening. Similarly, there are many other diseases which are very difficult to be cured and you need to find donors for that.

If you are storing umbilical cord blood after birth, you are in fact storing stem cells as that are what the blood contains. Stem cells are the bases of all the cells, tissues and organs of the body so they can be used to form healthier blood and tissue in the body. In cases of leukemia, stem cells can be used to generate healthy blood and fight off the cancer cells in the body. Using umbilical cord blood can save your child’s life in the future.

There are many children who do not survive different diseases each year just because they are not able to find donors in time. When a disease is diagnosed, it is important to find a donor as soon as possible, and if you are storing umbilical cord blood after birth, you will not have to waste time looking for a donor. All you will need to do is use the cord blood and that can help your child fight off a number of diseases in the future.