After a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, some
blood remains in the blood vessels of the placenta and the portion of the
umbilical cord that remains attached to it. After birth, the baby no longer
needs this extra blood. This blood is called placental blood or umbilical cord
blood: "cord blood" for short.
The blood within your newborn baby’s umbilical cord contains
young stem cells that can renew themselves and become specialized. These cord blood
stem cells have been proven in treatment to help children replace damaged blood
cells with healthy ones and strengthen their immune systems. Cord blood banking
is the process of collecting and storing these stem cells for potential medical
use.
Cord blood is used to treat children with cancerous blood
disorders such as leukaemia, or genetic blood diseases like Fanconi anaemia.
The cord blood is transplanted into the patient, where the HSCs can make new,
healthy blood cells to replace those damaged by the patient’s disease or by a
medical treatment such as chemotherapy for cancer.
Cord blood stem cells have been used successfully to treat
more than 70 different diseases, including some cancers, blood disorders, and
immune deficiencies. Among these are leukemia, aplastic anemia, thalassemia,
Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Cord blood stem cells have also
been used to treat sickle cell anemia, but that procedure is not yet on the
FDA-approved list.
When parents donate to a public bank, they are supporting
patients around the world who are searching for an unrelated Allogeneic donor.
When parents save cord blood in a family bank, they are reserving the options
that the baby can use its own stem cells for an Autologous treatment, or an
immediate relative (sibling or parents) can use the stem cells for an
Allogeneic treatment.
Private banks store cord blood for personal use by the
family. There is a fee associated with this service. People who have a family
history of disease that can be treated with stem cell transplants sometimes
consider this option.Cord blood is collected right after birth. The collection
process is painless and safe for you and your baby. In fact, it's so quick and
painless that parents – caught up in holding and bonding with their new baby –
are often unaware it has even happened.
Doctors recommend banking for a variety of reasons.
Umbilical cord blood is used today to treat many life-threatening diseases
including leukemia, certain other cancers and blood, immune and metabolic
disorders. And using your own family’s cord blood can have significant
advantages in treatments, including fewer complications and improved medical
outcomes.
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