Cord Blood Banking seems like such a good idea. Who does not want to guarantee optimal cancer and other life threatening treatments for their baby? After all, even the thought of your child dying is painful.
I know. Me too.
Many intelligent parents have gone ahead with the process without realising the full implications however. It costs $5-7k to store cord blood at a private cord blood bank so some thought must have gone into it. Is it really a good idea?
Cord Blood is one of 3 sources of blood producing (hematopoietic) stem cells which can be used in cancer treatments and other disorders. After a baby is born, the cord blood collection ensues, processed and is stored in either a private or public cord blood bank. The difference would be the cost and who has access to utilise this blood.
However the amount collected is usually insufficient for a cord blood transplant for an adult. Even if there is enough volume, there is also the risk that the number of stem cells are insufficient. The other risk is the stem cells may not match the use of the disorder that might arise for the adult.
So what does cord blood banking mean for your baby? Play the video to learn.
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is blood taken from the umbilical cord of the baby after the baby is born. Although named as such, it is not blood belonging to the cord - it was meant to pump into the baby. 30-40% of baby's blood is still in the cord when baby emerges. This is really important blood. Cutting the cord too quickly is actually quite traumatising for the baby - giving the baby a setback coming into the world with less blood than he is supposed to have.
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Love,
Doula Lorraine