Why do families choose to collect and store their babys cord blood?
Tens of thousands of families have chosen to save their baby’s cord blood stem cells with Cord Blood Registry. Most of CBR’s clients have no family history of disease, but see the current and future potential of their newborn’s cord blood stem cells as a biological resource. Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity – Only at Birth At an increasing rate, expectant parents are storing cord blood for their families, not only as a potential life-saving resource for current uses of stem cells, but also for their future potential. Some families have more defined risk factors, but most often, parents bank for the security in knowing the health benefits stem cells may someday offer their children, themselves, or other family members. Recent clinical studies support the unique suitability of cord blood stem cells for a number of developing technologies. Doctors are especially enthusiastic about the potential use of cord blood stem cells in the emerging fields of gene therapy and cellular repair. When you
For most families, banking their baby’s cord blood offers peace of mind that should there be a need, their family’s stem cells are readily available. Still others choose cord blood banking because they are excited about the potential that cord blood stem cells may someday be used to treat diabetes, heart disease and stroke in the future. Naturally, there are those who bank because of family history or because there is an existing medical need for a cord blood transplant. Transplants using cord blood from a family member are twice as successful as transplants using cord blood from a non-relative (i.e., a public source).
Today, cord blood stem cells have been used successfully in the treatment of nearly 80 diseases and over 600,000 families worldwide have banked their cord blood. For most families, banking their baby’s cord blood offers peace of mind that should there be a need, their family’s stem cells are readily available. Still others choose cord blood banking because of its emerging use in treating Type 1 Diabetes and cerebral palsy and the potential that cord blood stem cells may someday be used to treat diabetes, heart disease and stroke in the future. Naturally, there are those who bank because of family history or because there is an existing medical need for a cord blood transplant. It’s also important to remember that transplants using cord blood from a family member are twice as successful as transplants using cord blood from a non-relative (i.e., a public source).
More and more families have chosen to collect, process and store their baby’s cord blood as it provides a safe, painless and non-controversial means of acquiring stem cells. These stem cells have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases including common cancers and blood disorders, such as the sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and leukemia. Storing the baby’s cord blood is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, available only at birth. Cord blood stem cells are young and healthy cells, and are better matches when used for transplants. Cord blood transplants are generally preferred because of a lower complication rate compared to bone marrow transplants. When stored in a private cord blood bank, cord blood can be readily made available should the need arise, saving the precious time needed to search for a matching donor’s stem cells and allowing treatment to begin promptly. A baby’s own umbilical cord blood guarantees a perfect match for himself. The cord blood can also potentially incr
Most families bank their baby’s cord blood because they want the comfort and confidence of knowing that should the need arise, their baby’s cord blood stem cells are readily available. Many families recognize that the use of stem cells will be a growing area for medical treatment and emerging science is increasing the number of uses for stem cells.. Naturally, there are those who have an existing medical need, such as a history of disease or a family member who is sick with a condition that would use cord blood stem cells as part of the treatment therapy. More opportunities are being discovered every year but, since each case is different, there is no guarantee that a cord blood transplant will be an appropriate treatment therapy or that it will provide a cure. How long has science known about human umbilical cord blood? The world’s first successful human cord blood transplant was conducted in France in 1988 where stem cells were injected into a child with Fanconi’s Anemia. In 1991, a
