There are many benefits that come with cord blood banking, beneficial not only to the child, but also family members and other individuals as well such as parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends, as long as they qualify the HLA match.
The matching process isn’t complicated. It can be liken to matching of a bone marrow transplant or an organ. For instance, a sibling may have the perfect HLA match with a donor, this eliminates rejection issues with that specific cord blood unit. The collection, processing and cord blood storage will give you a peace of mind because you will have a life-saving tool ready for use in case of any health issues, you may require it someday.
The first cord blood transplant was done in 1988 on a young boy in Paris who had fanconi’s anemia, a kind of blood disorder. At that point in time, researchers new that particular type of blood disorder. Today, studies and research have discovered that stem cells can treat more than 80 life threating medical conditions. More and more studies are be done in the hopes that one day the cord blood stem cells and tissue stem cells will be able to treat even the deadliest diseases on the planet.
The stem cells comprise of two essential components: cord tissue stem cells and cord blood cells. Cord blood is found in the umbilical cord vein. It features white blood cells, red blood cells, plasm, and platelets. Also, the blood contains high levels of hematopoietic stem cells which are also found in the bone marrow. Today, cord blood treats more than 80 deadly diseases such as:
- Metabolic disorders
- Immunodeficiency
- Bone marrow failure syndromes
- Blood disorders
- Many cancers
Cord blood might just be the medical solution we have all been waiting for all these years.