mandi_c69 asked
What Is Cord Blood Storage? “One of the latest possibilities that parents are now considering is the ability to have their physician collect cord blood, enriched with life-enhancing stem cells, easily and painlessly from the baby’s umbilical cord and placenta at birth,” says Dr. Michael Lill, medical director at the California Cryobank Inc. in Santa Monica, Calif., one of the largest tissue banks in the world. “Approximately 3 to 5 ounces of cord blood are collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after the baby is born. The blood is then packaged in a collection kit provided by the cord blood bank and then transported to the cord blood storage facility, where it remains as ‘insurance’ for possible later use.” The samples are stored at the cord blood bank of choice, providing the parents with a safeguard of their baby’s future health as well as the health of their family. Bil Paul, public relations specialist for the Cord Blood Registry in San Bruno, Calif., the largest family cord blood bank in the world, says he would like to see more parents consider this option in the future. “Discarding the cord blood is a medical waste,” says Paul. There is a host of information available that describes the benefits of saving your child’s umbilical cord blood. The No. 1 reason is that when cord blood stem cells are used by that same child, it is always a perfect match. There is also a 25 percent chance that it will be a match for one of the child’s siblings. “There are a number of reasons parents choose to save their child’s umbilical cord blood including: a history of predisposition to certain conditions, a child in the family is in need of a stem cell transplantation, family situations where both genetically-linked parents are not available, and a wish,” says Dr. Lill. “The technology that makes cord blood storage possible is one of the foremost medical marvels of our time.” When bone marrow cells are harvested, it is not only a very painful procedur
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