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New parents today are faced with a controversial decision prior to the delivery of their child. Should they or should they not donate the stem cells from their child's umbilical cord to a public cord blood banking facility? Public cord blood banking involves a decision of whether or not you want to donate your child's umbilical cord blood for research that benefits the public.
What you should know is that collecting cord blood carries minimal risks to the baby or the mother. Making this choice could help further research and save lives from life-threatening diseases as the field of stem cell research rapidly evolves.
Purpose of cord blood banking
Researchers believe that blood stem cells can treat life-threatening diseases. Certain cancers like leukemia, high-risk tumors, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have all responded to stem cell therapy. Blood disorders, immune disorders, and metabolic disorders also have benefited from stem cells harvested from blood cord banking.
Cord blood stem cells will not, however, benefit any inherited genetic conditions. These cases can respond to stem cells from a matched sibling. If you have any questions, be sure to contact your physician for the latest updates.
Cord blood banking process
This simple and safe process usually takes less than five minutes, but the cord blood must be collected within 15 minutes after the birth. The procedure does not interfere with the birth process, and it can be done with vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Your healthcare professional will use either a syringe method or a bag method for cord blood collection. A laboratory must process the cord blood within 48 hours.
Syringe: A syringe draws blood from the umbilical cord immediately after it is cut. The procedure is the same as the way blood is drawn from your arm during a blood test.
Bag: After the umbilical cord is cut, it is elevated, causing the blood to drain into a bag.
How public cord blood banking works
Donations are accepted from anyone, and all donations are used to help anyone in need. Following strict regulations, public cord banks have procedures that must be followed to ensure that any donated cord blood containers are properly added to their registry.
Pregnant women who are interested in making a blood cord donation must contact a public cord banking facility before their 34th week of pregnancy. After the cord blood has been donated, the source identification is deleted prior to any testing. This means that if you make a donation, you will not be able to retrieve your child's personal stem cells if he or she has a life-threatening disease in the future.
Public cord blood banking includes discussing the pros and cons with your physician in order to make an informed decision. You will be donating stems cells for the greater good of mankind and not as an insurance policy for your child's health in the future.
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