Cord Blood Banking, The Process of Stem Cells

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Cord Blood Banking – a Decision

That May Save a Life

from Zimbio.com

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, cord blood banking was one of my two top priorities, natural birth being the other one. Today, cord blood is being used to treat such life-threatening diseases as leukemia and other cancers, as well as certain blood and immune disorders that formerly necessitated a bone marrow transplant.

A quick overview about cord blood banking:

1) Cord blood is the blood that remains in the newborn’s umbilical cord after the cord has been cut. Doctors have identified that cord blood is a rich source for stem cells, which can be used in medical treatments. Cord blood is routinely discarded after birth but a process known as cord blood banking allows families to save their newborn’s cord blood for potential future medical use.
2) Cord blood stem cells are unique! In comparison to adult stem cells, cord blood cells have higher rates of proliferation, immunological immaturity, and reduced exposure to viruses and aging.
3) Cord blood banking is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for parents to save the stems cells found in the blood of their newborn’s umbilical cord. Cord blood banking is safe for both the mother and the newborn since the cord blood is collected after the baby is born and the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut. Once the cord blood has been collected, it is sent to a laboratory for processing and storage.
4) In cord blood “processing”, the facility can determine how many usable stem cells were collected, the higher the amount, the greater chance that the family may have positive outcomes if they ever need to use them for future medical treatments. In traditional transplant medicine, having more cells available for treatment may help the patient recover faster, experience fewer complications, and ultimately, increase the chance for survival. A doctor will use all of the stem cells in transplant in order to give the patient the best chance for rapid regeneration of their blood and immune system.In Regenerative Medicine, a higher number of cells may offer the ability to have multiple treatments.
5) The current research shows that cord blood stem cells hold the same composition as they did fifteen years prior, this is how long we know they can be stored without changing (due to the research being 15 years new).
My husband did our research and came upon the decision to bank our daughters cord blood based on a couple of factors.
6) My husband’s mother died when he was a teen of cervical cancer so we have a cancer link in our family genealogy though we are aware that heredity and cancer links are unknown.
7) We thought…this is something that could potentially save our daughter or other members of our family (if they are a match) from life-threatening illnesses. It would be disgarded otherwise.
We decided to go with CBR (Cord Blood Registry) based on experience, storage facility details, collection and processing made easy, and their commitment to ongoing research.
There are a couple of things about cord blood banking that we weighed with our decision making.
8) It is expensive. We paid roughly $2,200 and then there is an annual storage fee of about $150
9) With the midwifery model of care, the cord is usually left on as long as possible until it stops pulsing so that the baby gets the maximum amount of blood in it’s body and waiting longer to cut the cord after birth is said to reduce traumatic impact.With cord-blood banking, the cord needs to be cut sooner to secure the maximum amount of stem cell collection.
I hope that my readers find this informative and that it helps open up your mind to new possibilities with birth.
My intuition tells me that we made the right choice for my family and it helps me sleep a bit sounder at night knowing that we have this in the back of our tool belt. Happy Cord Blood Awareness Month (July)!
P.S. You can also choose to donate your baby’s cord blood which may be used for life-saving research or may be given to families in need. Even if you do not want to store it, please consider doing something to help another human.
Amy

Cord Blood Banking today is a serious consideration:

23 January 2009 BBC NEWS! HEALTH headlines read: “Green light for US stem cell work – US regulators have cleared the way for the world’s first study on human embryonic stem cell therapy”

The article goes on to say that an expert in regenerative medicine at University College London – Professor Chris Mason describes the decision as “historic” and a “pivotal milestone in the development of embryonic stem cell therapies.

So what is the big deal?  What exactly does this decision mean to you and I and especially to our children?  What is Cord Blood Banking anyway?  Why should expectant mothers/parents be aware of Cord Blood options based on the latest scientific/medical developments?  The answer to the latter is simply that a parent’s decision may well dictate the future wellbeing of their soon-to-be born child.  However – in order to view the available options there is much to be considered as Cord Blood Banking as well as stem cell therapy in general is in the pioneering stages scientifically and medically.  Even more confusing is that it is also virtually unknown in it’s scope and therefore often misunderstood at the social – philosophical and layman level.  Those whom such a decision affects the most – have until now had the least amount of clear factual unbiased information.  This site will endeavour to provide expectant parents with factual relevant information stripped of mystique and social/religious prejudices.

Since we are discussing a field which is in early pioneer stages it must be pointed out that current facts being presented by the medical community and social organizations are based on very limited and “current” knowledge.  Unfortunately – the decision to be made by parents involves not the “current moment” but rather that of a child all through every stage of living ie. a parent’s current decision decide may decide the child’s future at the moment of it’s birth.  It is one of the most serious decisions parents can make since it’s consequences may decide any potential medical challenge the child may ever face.  While the decision is far more serious than – it is not totally unlike a person in the early 1900’s deciding whether to purchase a new horse and buggy with onset of the car.   The horse and buggy of course became obsolete – but the potential buyer at the time was faced with many opposing the car philosophically  – socially and practically -  while facing the reality that the car did in fact exist.  Similarly – this issue presents itself to parents today since it is true that research in North America on stem cell treatment was virtually halted and is therefore only in pioneering stages – it is also true that the world is a global village and thousands of patients have regained their lives because of active treatment with the use of stem cells.  Should a parent then say yes to banking their child’s precious stem cells at birth or rather toss them in the garbage?  Let’s start by getting a handle on the question – what is cord blood banking anyway?

Cord Blood Banking

In order to understand what cord blood banking we have to understand “cord blood”.  Immediately after the birth of a child there is blood remaining within the umbilical cord and placenta – this is referred to as “cord blood”.   During the pregnancy the placenta  exists as the body’s temporary organ from which nutrients and oxygen is delivered to the baby in the womb by way of the umbilical cord.

Until the 1970’s both the placenta and umbilical cord were disposed of as waste.  During the 70’s it was discovered that the blood in both the cord and placenta were rich with the same (blood-forming) stem cells as were available in bone marrow.   The importance of blood-forming stem cells was that they are “early cells” or “primitive cells”.  This means that these cells could develop/form into the three cell types that make up our blood in maturity.  These are: platelets – white blood cells and red blood cells.  It is further believed that these early/primitive stem cells may also develop into other cell types as needed by the body – research on this has barely begun.

Cord blood banking developed as result of this knowledge since until this time – these stem cells were believed to be found only in bone marrow.  The fact that these blood forming cells offered treatment for a multitude of known diseases such as leukemia-lymphoma – aplastic  anemia – severe sickle cell anemia and sever combined immune deficiency to mention just a few was commonly known.   What was news was that such a rich store of these same cells was available in the cord blood and placentas which were until then being literally thrown away as trash.   The range of stem cell treatment potential that exists has not even begun to be investigated in North America.  On the other hand – Europe and China in particular have been actively and successfully treating thousands of patients for a multitude of diseases and conditions for years.  These conditions which the medical field in North America has labeled as incurable such as: Ataxia – Autism – Als – Batten Disease – Brain Injury – Parkinsons are in fact being defeated in varying degrees by stem cell therapy – just not in the USA and Canada.  Of course the treatments mentioned include adult stem cell therapy and not exclusively cord blood stem cell therapy -  however the potential treatment value of stored placenta and cord blood can hardly be overstated and no living being can attest to what value it can have for the baby in the future. The term Cord Blood Banking itself developed as a result of the decision to store these invaluable blood-forming stem cells to be used as needed for future treatment of a potentially endless list of conditions and diseases.

Today Cord Blood Banking is within the reach of individual families.  An expectant parent has the option to decide – whether to store the invaluable stem cells of the baby at the time of delivery in a Cord Blood Bank or not.  Should a parent decide on Cord Blood Banking  there are many things to be considered on a practical level and this site endeavors to offer as much current information in addressing the parent’s specific questions as is possible.

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