Unless you are a young parent with a growing family, you may not be familiar with the term "cord blood banking." According to the Mayo Clinic, "Cord blood banking is a procedure in which cord blood -- a rich source of stem cells -- is taken from a newborn's umbilical cord after delivery and preserved for possible future use in a stem cell transplant." Experts from the Mayo Clinic explain that collecting an infant's cord blood has very few risks to either the baby or the mother.
After parents choose a banking process, their next decision is whether to go with a public or private facility. Listed below are the benefits of banking and the pros and cons of which facility to choose.
Benefits of cord blood banking
If you are about to become a new parent and are thinking about the future health care of your child, you might want to think about saving your newborn's stem cells. Research is proving that blood stem cells can treat life-threatening diseases. Following are some of the diseases that are being treated with cord blood, including other stem cells sources such as bone marrow:
Cancers: Acute and Chronic Leukemia, high-risk solid tumors, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and Myelodysplastic Syndrome.
Blood disorders: Beta Thalammemis and anemia conditions such as Diamond-Backfan, Fanconi and Severe Aplastic. Also included is Sickle Cell Disease.
Immune disorders: Chronic Granulomatous Disease, Hystiocytic disorders, Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency diseases and Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.
Metabolic disorders: Krabbe Disease, Hurler Syndrome, Metachromatic Leukodystrophy and Sanfilippo Syndrome.
Unfortunately, inherited genetic conditions will not benefit using your child's stem cells. In these cases, a matched sibling's stem cells are the first choice for treatment. Be aware that stem cell research is evolving rapidly. Contact your doctor for the latest information.
Public versus private blood cord banking facilities
If you want to share your infant's cord blood in research that will benefit the public, you should choose apublic cord banking facility. These facilities use cord blood transplants from different donors. While you don't have to pay any donation fees to a public bank, you will have to bring your baby to a hospital or other designated location that is equipped to handle public cord blood donations. Just remember that if you make this choice, whatever you donate probably won't be available for your child in the future because public banks discard unused stem cells.
Perhaps your only thoughts are to bank your baby's cord blood as an insurance policy for the future. Using a private cord banking facility may make more sense for you, but using one is controversial. Upfront costs are high and include an initial collection fee in addition to ongoing maintenance storage fees. Some doctors will advise parents that the chances are slim that their child will ever need their own stem cells. Another fact is that if your child should need a stem cell transplant in the future, there are no guarantees offered that whatever cells are banked will remain viable or suitable for use.
All expectant parents should consider cord blood banking as an option. Discuss the pros and cons with your pediatrician before making an informed decision.
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