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Whether to bank your newborn’s cord blood is perhaps the most important decision you can make. It transforms the potential of tomorrow into a reality for your family. But before you make that decision, it’s important to understand all that you can about cord blood and stem cells.
Stem Cells - an Overview
Stem cells are “master” cells since they create all other tissues, organs and systems inside the body. Furthermore, they can differentiate into other types of cells so they have numerous uses. Your newborn’s umbilical cord blood contains important sources of stem cells, similar to that of bone marrow. Yet it is obtained by a simple, non-invasive procedure – following the safe delivery of your baby. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are derived from full-term pregnancy and are thus a non-controversial source of these cells.
A Family Affair
Cord blood is not only a perfect match for your baby, but also has a 1 in 4 chance of being a perfect tissue match for a sibling, should it be needed for transplant. Cord blood also produces less graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients, thereby reducing the risk of serious complications. Since there is less need for perfect matching, cord blood from newborn babies has been used to treat diseases in their parents and even unrelated individuals.
The Future Begins Today
Technologies are on the horizon to greatly expand the stem cells from cord blood. This opens the possibility of a single cord blood specimen being used multiple times for family members and or a variety of diseases. Preserving your baby’s cord blood at the time of birth is the only way to be in position to take advantage of these future capabilities.
The Many Benefits
Stem cells are currently being used to treat disease, often replacing bone marrow transplantation as the source of stem cells to combat certain types of cancer such as leukemias and lymphomas, and cure various genetic diseases. To date, over 70 blood and genetic diseases have been treated by cord blood transplantation. It has been found that cord blood, like bone marrow, contains other types of stem cells capable of regenerating other tissues such as bone, nerve cells, heart muscle and cartilage, thus paving the way for future medical treatments for stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and rheumatoid arthritis.
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