There have been numerous news stories and reports coming out about something called “cord blood” or “cord blood banking”. It has been a longstanding practice to keep the umbilical cord of one’s newborn baby, often for personal or sentimental reasons. However, there is growing scientific evidence highlighting the medical benefits of the umbilical cord blood, for those who choose to keep it.
Umbilical cord blood is composed of extraordinarily valuable stem cells, which cannot be found or made any other way. The stem cells in umbilical cord blood have the ability to serve a variety of life-saving functions for the recipient, particularly those involved in nerve, blood or muscle cells. Preserving your newborn’s cord blood with a cord blood bank can serve as a sort of medical insurance against a potential future illness or medical condition in your child’s future.
Here are some examples of true storiesshowing the benefits of cord blood and its impact on lives.Because Mrs. Murphy had a family history of leukemia, the Murphys banked the cord blood of Katie, their newbornbaby. At 1 year old, Katie was diagnosed with a rare condition called hypotonia, affecting muscle development and motor skills. In 2010, Katie was given a transfusion of her own cord blood, and as a result, her recovery has been progressing incredibly well.
There is also the case of a boy named Quentin, whose transfusion from his younger sister’s cord blood sent his own leukemia into remission since 2010. Another boy named Barrett was 11 years old he was diagnosed with diabetes, type-1. Fortunately his parents had preserved his cord blood at birth, and decided to enroll Barrett incord blood clinical trials to get the best help available for him.Barrett has since needed less and less insulin due to a one-time transfusion of his own umbilical cord blood.
Even though a lot of the evidence can seem anecdotal, scientific evidence and other studies arequickly mounting on the medical benefits of cord blood banking. Moreover, there are numerous resources to help educate parents or parents-to-be. There are certainly costs and other pros and cons to consider, however the consensus is that there are virtually no medical risks involved in preserving the cord blood of one’s newborn baby. If you or you’re a loved one is planning on having a new baby soon, it may be worthwhile to educate yourselves through websites like CordbloodNationwide.com as well as your pediatrician to find out more.
