What is Cord Blood Banking?

Promising results from cord blood research have been prompting more and more parents to bank their newborn’s umbilical cord blood and tissue. As a rich source of stem cells, cord blood is currently used in several lifesaving transplants and is expected to cure more debilitating conditions in the future. Patients with leukemia, lymphoma, immune deficiencies and other inherited metabolic disorders can benefit from cord blood stem cell transplants.

What makes cord blood so unique and valuable? Until recently, the blood present in the placenta and umbilical cord was disposed as medical waste right after the child birth. But with the discovery of the abundance of stem cell in the cord blood, things have changed. Stem cells present in the cord blood are capable of dividing and renewing themselves. Since they are unspecialized templates, these cells can be developed into specialized cells and tissues. It is their renewal property that proves beneficial in treating several life threatening conditions. During stem cell transplants, the damaged cells are destroyed and replaced with cord blood stem cells, which then replicates and produce new blood cells.

What is cord blood banking? Collecting and storing the newborn’s cord blood for long term is known as cord blood banking. Private and public cord blood banking options are available for the expectant parents. According to researchers and scientists, cord blood holds an immense potential as a treatment for a diverse range of health conditions, such as cerebral palsy (CP), stroke, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Several clinical trials and research sessions are underway exploring the therapeutic value and applications of cord blood and cord tissue stem cells.

If you are an expectant parent, then you may either decide to store your baby’s cord blood at a private bank or donate it to a public bank. A number of patients suffering from conditions like those listed above may benefit from the public stem cell donations. So, rather than waste this valuable resource, make a point to store or donate your infant’s cord blood and cord tissue.

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FAQs About Cord Blood & Stem Cell Research

You might have heard about the advancements surrounding the stem cell research and increasing cord blood pricing issues. You may wonder how stem cell differs from the general human cells and why they are the subject of such vigorous debate. So let us explore more by checking the answers to some frequently asked questions about stem cells.

What are stem cells?

We can say stem cells are the body’s raw materials – the cells from which specialized cells are generated. They have a remarkable potential to renew themselves through cell division which help in internal repairing. In some organs such as gut and bone marrow, the damaged cells are repaired and replaced by the stem cells on a routine basis. Another important characteristic that distinguishes stem cells from other cell types is its capability to become an organ-specific cell under certain physiologic or experimental conditions.

Why Stem cells are important and what are the benefits of stem cell research?

Unique regenerative abilities of the stem cells offer promising medical solutions in treating several debilitating conditions. According to researchers and doctors, the stem cell studies helps in availing a better understanding about how diseases develop in a human body. Regenerative medicine therapy is a remarkable initiative that revolves around the benefits of stem cell research. Since stem cells have the potential to repair and renew, it can be used to treat damaged tissues in people. Drug testing is another notable application of stem cell. Human stem cells are programmed into tissue-specific cells for testing new drugs. Safety and quality of investigational drugs are tested using such programmed stem cells in laboratory.

What are the sources of stem cells? 

Embryonic stem cells, as the name indicates are found in the embryos that are three to five days old. Bone marrow, fat and most of the adult tissues have adult stem cells. Perinatal stem cells are found in the amniotic fluid and baby’s cord blood. And that is why the medical communities are encouraging the banking of baby’s cord blood and tissue these days.

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Importance of Umbilical Cord Tissue

Why save baby cord blood? What are its benefits? Is it worth the money? Blood present in the baby’s umbilical cord contains stem cells. Multipotent adult stem cells present in the umbilical cord blood make it a precious resource in the medical and research field. And that is why baby’s cord blood, which was once discarded as medical waste, is now collected and saved for long term storage. The first human transplant using cord stem cells was performed in 1988. It was for treating Fanconi anemia – an inherited disease that mainly affects the bone marrow. Cord blood that was used to treat only one disease at that time can now treat nearly 80 diseases.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) present in the baby cord blood can be used to restore the damaged blood cells in our body. Developed from mesodermal hemangioblast cells, HSCs are self-renewing progenitor cells that has the potential to generate multitude of cell types found in the blood stream including red blood cells, white blood cells and megakaryocytes. Hematologic and nonhematologic cancers, autoimmune disorders, various forms of anemia and immunodeficiency disorders can be treated with the cord blood Hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs). Why cord blood stem cell transplants are gaining wide acceptance in the medical community? Cord blood stem cell transplants require a less-stringent HLA match and carry a lower risk of graft-vs-host disease. Moreover, the transplant outcomes are more effective and better with cord blood applications when compared to other transplant methods.

Stem cells are not only present in the cord blood, but also in the surrounding tissue.  Umbilical cord tissue is a rich source of Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This type of multipotent connective tissue cells can develop into a variety of cell types such as bone cells, cartilage cells, muscle cells and fat cells. Many scientists are striving harder to discover the cord tissue benefits and applications. Currently research and clinical trials are going on to better understand the potential of cord tissue. According to the scientists, cord tissue MSCs can be used to treat Liver fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease, Rheumatoid arthritis and lung cancer to name a few.

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Banking Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord Blood

Placenta and umbilical cord are the two crucial support systems of a healthy pregnancy. Placenta not only provides nourishment to the growing fetus but also takes away the waste from the fetus to mother’s system for excretion.  The cord structure that connects placenta to the fetus is called umbilical cord. Known as the lifeline between mother and baby, umbilical cord carries oxygenated blood from placenta to baby through its vein and takes away deoxygenated blood from baby to placenta through its arteries.

Blood present in the umbilical cord, which was once considered as a medical waste, is now known to be a valuable resource. Abundant presence of stem cells in the newborn’s umbilical cord blood (CB) makes it a lifesaving resource and that is why the medical community is encouraging the storage of cord blood stem cells. Used to treat more than 70 types of diseases including leukemia, lymphoma, sickle-cell disease, metabolic disorders and some inherited disorders, newborn’s umbilical cord blood holds a promising future in regenerative medicine therapies.

Several clinical trials are still underway, where scientists and researchers are striving harder to unlock and tap into the potential of cord blood and cord tissue stem cells. Unlike the bone marrow stem cell harvesting, cord blood collection and stem cell banking is a painless procedure that doesn’t require any invasive methods. Easy and quick CB collection carried out immediately after the delivery neither hurts the mother nor the baby. Expectant parents may check out informative cord blood banking videos and webinar sessions to explore the benefits and downsides of CB.

The first successful cord blood stem cell transplant took place in 1988 at Hospital Saint-Louis in Paris. Performed for treating Fanconi’s anemia, this transplantation was a new milestone in the history of stem cell research. The patient was a five year old boy named Matthew Farrow and he received the donor stem cells from his newborn baby sister. Since then, cord blood stem cell banking and donations have reported a surging growth and popularity.

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Baby’s Cord Blood – Store or Donate?

An expectant parent needs to take a number of important decisions in order to ensure the future health of their child. What to do with the newborn’s cord blood is a case in point. Blood present in the umbilical cord is an abundant source of stem cells which makes it a valuable lifesaving resource. It can be used to treat an array of debilitating conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma and anaemia to mention a few. And that is why cord blood banking have been gaining wide acceptance like never before. With the remarkable advancements in the stem cell research, the field of cord blood stem cell technology is all geared up to transform the regenerative medicine in many ways. Expectant parents can discard it, donate it to a public cord blood bank or store it in private cord blood banks.

You need to take several factors into consideration before taking a decision. Having a look at your family medical history is one of them. Check whether there are any heritable diseases running in your family that can be treated with cord blood. Have a brief discussion with your family members and seek the guidance of your family doctor. Private cord blood banks store your baby’s cord blood for an annual fee so that the family can use it at the time of need. If you have decided to bank your baby’s cord blood, then it is advised to do a detailed research to find an accredited and reputed family cord blood bank.

Public cord blood banks allow families to donate the blood at free of cost. Cord blood donated to such public facilities is used for transplants or medical research. No matter whether you are planning to store or donate cord blood, it is essential to check out the eligibility criteria of cord blood banking.

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Baby Cord Blood for Stem Cell Transplants

Significant strides and breakthroughs in the medical research and healthcare have helped the physicians to diagnose and treat patients better. Let us consider the field of stem cell research. Scientists have been striving hard to tap into the potential of master cells in curing wide and extensive array of diseases. Several discoveries were made over the past decade and the use of baby cord blood for stem cell transplants was just one of them. Umbilical cord blood that connects an embryo to the placenta serves an integral role of providing nutrients to the growing fetus. Discovery of stem cell presence in the cord blood and cord tissue was a major milestone in the history of stem cell research. Blood forming hematopoietic stem cells present in the cord blood can develop into red cells, white cells or platelets, which makes it capable of curing different types of debilitating conditions including genetic disorders, immune deficiencies and blood disorders. On the other hand, umbilical cord tissue contains Mesenchymal stem cells that can develop into different skeletal tissues such as cartilage, bone and fat.

Cord blood, being a rich source of blood forming stem cells can be used for the transplants among leukemia patients so as to restore the body’s ability to make blood and immune cells. That is the reason why medical community and scientists have been encouraging the banking and donation of baby cord blood. Private and public cord blood stem cell banking services are available to the expectant parents. Blood stored in the private bank will be solely for the family whereas cord blood donated to the public bank will be used for life saving transplants and research purpose. Great shelf life, lower risk of viral contamination, higher flexibility and lower incidence rates of graft versus host disease are some of the major benefits that makes cord blood stem cells a better alternative over bone marrow transplants.

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Future of Cord Blood Banking

Advancements in science and technology have transformed the field of healthcare and medicine over the last decade. Let us take stem cell research as an example. Being one of the promising areas of biomedical research, stem cell biology has received wide attention. According to researchers, stem cell science has the potential to change the scope and future of regenerative medicine. However, harvesting and collection of stem cells is always surrounded by several set of ethical controversies. That is when cord blood stem cell banking came into limelight. Before we delve into the details of cord blood banking, let us find out what cord blood is. As you may know, umbilical cord connects the foetus with placenta and is responsible for providing oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the growing embryo. After the baby is born, umbilical cord is cut. But even after the child birth, there will be some amount of blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta. This is termed as cord blood(CB) or placental blood. Around 180 ml of cord blood can be collected right after the child birth. What makes the umbilical cord blood so valuable? It is the presence of blood forming hematopoietic stem cells that offers a life-saving status to the CB. Not just the cord blood, but the cord tissue also contains Mesenchymal stem cells.

Stem cells harvested from the baby’s cord blood are used to treat several medical conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma, immune deficiencies and other genetically inherited disorders. Generally, the cancerous cells are destroyed through chemotherapy and radiation procedures. Later, the stem cells are transplanted to restore the function of damaged cells. Cord blood stem cells are an effective alternative to bone marrow transplants. More and more expectant parents are banking their child’s cord blood these days. Those who can’t afford the high costs of cord blood banking are encouraged to donate it to public banks.

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Things You Need to Bear in Mind When Banking Umbilical Cord Blood and Tissue

Cord blood banking has become an increasingly discussed topic among the expectant parents. Blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord is termed as cord blood or CB. Why save baby cord blood? Since this blood is rich in stem cells, it can be used for life-saving transplants and regenerative medicine research. Cord blood was used for the first time in 1988, in order to cure Fanconi Anemia. And from that time onwards, there was no looking back as several breakthroughs happened in the field of stem cell research. Currently cord blood is used to treat more than 80 life threatening conditions which include but are not limited to blood disorders, metabolic disorders, immunodeficiencies and certain types of cancer. On the other hand, the medical applications of umbilical cord tissue are yet to be discovered. Several clinical trials are underway exploring the potential applications and benefits of umbilical cord tissue.

Expectant parents who wish to insure the health of their baby opt for private cord blood banking services. If you are contemplating with the idea of banking your new-born’s cord blood, then there are a few things you need to bear in mind. Banking your baby’s cord blood in a family cord blood bank is going to cost you a pretty penny. And that is why it is essential to research about various private cord blood banking prices. Planning ahead and conducting detailed research can help you choose a reputed family cord blood bank. Enquiring about the accreditation, facilities and banking costs of the bank is important. If the private cord blood banking prices are out of your budget range, then you think about donating your new-born’s CB to a public bank. Donations to a public cord blood bank are used for life-saving stem cell transplants and medical research purposes. Either way, you are making a valuable contribution to the mankind.

Originally Published:Why Save Baby Cord Blood and How to Bank it?

What Are The Benefits Of Stem Cell Research?

If you have heard about the stem cell research, then you might be familiar with its surrounding controversies also. Stem cells, also known as the master cells have a remarkable potential to treat many life-threatening conditions. Currently, these cells are used for various transplants and medical applications. Moreover, several clinical trials and research works are underway exploring its potential to treat even more debilitating conditions in future. Applications and benefits of stem cell research are many.

Transplants are one of the major applications of stem cell research. Master cells with renewal properties can restore the function of a damaged or dysfunctional cell. However, harvesting the master cells is not an easy task. Until recently, stem cells were collected from bone marrow for the transplants. But the discovery of cell presence in the newborn baby cord blood was a major milestone. Blood left in the placenta and umbilical cord after the child birth contains enormous number of stem cells. Both cord blood and umbilical cord tissue are harvested and stored for treatments and research purpose. Cord blood contains hematopoieticstem cells (HSCs), whereas umbilical cord tissue contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Currently newborn baby cord blood is used for treating more than eighty diseases which includes but are not limited to leukaemia, inherited blood disorders and inherited metabolic disorders.

Stem cells have the unique ability to differentiate into specialised cell types and can keep on renewing themselves. Such properties can be exploited to treat a wide range of diseases. Regenerative medicine research and studies focus on exploiting the potential of stem cells to reverse diseases. According to the scientists, stem cells can act as an ultimate body repair kit and holds the promise of strengthening body’s natural healing abilities. Some of the promising applications of cord blood banking include the treatment of spinal cord injuries, cardio vascular diseases, Parkinson’s disease, type I diabetes, genetic defects and burn victims.

Originally Published:Major Benefits of Stem Cell Research

Why You Should Consider Cord Blood Banking?

If you are an expectant parent, then you may have heard about the baby blood cord banking. Like most people, you may be wondering about the special features of the so-called cord blood. What is cord blood and what makes it so special? Blood present in the placenta and umbilical cord is termed as cord blood (CB). In addition to the normal elements of blood such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma, CB is rich in stem cells (Hematopoietic Stem Cells). Powerful stem cells can give rise to any tissue or organ cells of the body. Moreover, these master cells are unspecialised and can be used to replace or repair the tissues that have been damaged by diseases. Not only the cord blood, but the cord tissue also contains Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) that have afforded promise in the treatment of medical conditions affecting cartilage, muscle and nerve cells. According to the scientists, cord tissue benefits and applications have a great role to play in the future of regenerative medicine research.

So now you are clear about what cord blood is. But have you ever thought how stem cells can treat the cancer conditions? Let us consider lymphoma as an example. It is a form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system (Immune system of our body). During the first stage, cancerous cells in the bone marrow are destroyed through chemotherapy and radiation procedures. The next step is to transplant the stem cells in bone marrow so that it can restore the function by producing blood forming cells and tissues of the body. As we mentioned earlier, cord blood stem cells have self-renewal properties which makes it a perfect alternative for bone marrow transplant. Moreover, umbilical cord blood possesses little risk of graft-versus-host disease which helps it to integrate with the body better. Currently, umbilical cord blood is used to treat more than 80 diseases including cancers, blood disorders, immune deficiency conditions and more. So to cut short, baby cord blood banking and cord blood donation is a life-saving medical service that you can opt for.

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