Things You Should Know About Umbilical Cord Preservation
There are so many things that are taken care of when a child is born. One of the most important things related to a child’s birth is umbilical cord blood preservation. The umbilical cord is the cord which connects the baby to the mother in the womb. Usually, it is thrown away at birth, but now, many parents are aware of the benefits, and they store the blood for the future health of their child.
The blood leftover in the umbilical cord and placenta after a child is born have special cells in it; these cells help to treat and even cure some severe diseases. This blood can be collected and stored. Many cord blood banking companies encourage parents to preserve this blood if in case their child or someone else in the family develop any severe issue in the future.
What Can It Be Used For?
Cord blood contains cells that are known as hematopoietic stem cells. These cells have the capability of turning into any kind of blood cell which can be used for transplants that cure diseases such as immune deficiencies, blood disorders, metabolic diseases, and even some types of cancers. Research centers are coming up with more and more ways by which it can save lives. It is something really precious — almost magical, which makes it absolutely worth keeping. Also, doing this is entirely safe for the baby, and it doesn’t affect labor or delivery.
How Is This Blood taken?
When a baby is pushed out from the mother’s womb, the doctor clamps the umbilical cord from two places that are about 10 inches apart and cuts the cord to separate the mother from the baby. Then they insert a needle and collect about 40 milliliters of blood from the cord. This blood is sealed in a bag and sent to the labor cord blood bank for testing and storage. This process takes just a few minutes, and it is absolutely painless for the mother and the baby.
How Can It Be Stored?
There are three ways that help in umbilical cord blood preservation
Public cord banks
These banks don’t charge anything for storage. The donation made is available for anyone in need. The donated cord can also be used for the research purpose.
Private (commercial) cord banks
They store the donated blood exclusively for the use of donor and their family members. Thus, they’re quite expensive. These blood banks charge an annual fee for processing and storage.
Direct-donation banks
These are a combination of public and private blood banks. They store the cord blood for public use. But they also accept donations reserved for the families. And here no fee is charged.