Banking stem Cells of Your Baby
By: Tsou JinyeuTotal Views: 193, Word Count: 561,
Stem cells are the building blocks of our body. Stem cells are extracted from the cord blood of your during the time of delivery. The stem cells from the cord blood are young and highly potent. They repair damaged organs better and hence, they are best equipped in treating a wide array of congenital, degenerative and malignant diseases.
After a baby is delivered, the mother's body discharges the placenta which is a temporary organ that provided oxygen and nutrients to the baby while it was in the mother's womb. Until recently, in most cases the umbilical cord and placenta were discarded immediately after birth. But in 70s, researchers discovered that umbilical cord blood could be vital in treating life-threatening diseases. And hence, umbilical cord blood cells began to be collected and stored.
Why should you bank you baby’s stem cells?
Your baby stems cells may provide numerous benefits to your baby as well as its siblings and the entire family. Saving your baby’s stem cells would be extremely useful in treating a host of ailments. If your child needs to use his/her cord blood cells as part of a life saving treatment, his/her stem cells will be the perfect match. If your family has a history of certain types of cancer or blood disorders then, stem cell banking would be a prudent decision. The application of stem cells in disorders like blood cancer, leukemia, Thalassemia, various immune diseases, various storage disorders, bone marrow replacement and metabolic disorders have already been established.
Stem cells can also help in curing many no hope diseases such as diabetes, osteoarthritis, spinal cord injuries, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dystrophies, liver cirrhosis and many more.
What factors should you consider while choosing a stem cell bank?
A cord blood bank should be close to where you live and should be well equipped with a state of the art processing facility that is replete with the most sophisticated technology. The proximity is an extremely crucial factor as it is proven that, it is necessary to process the stem cells within six hours of collecting them in order to ensure maximum yield of viable stem cells. The facility should be accredited with or conform to the norms of extremely quality certifications like ISO, GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and AABB (American Association of Blood Bank) to name a few.
You should also check with your stem cell bank about their procedure to retrieve the stem cells if you ever require them for a treatment. It is advisable to be associated with cord blood bank that also provides with treatment and therapies. All these factors should be taken into consideration before choosing a stem cell bank.
Here are a few questions that you need to consider before choosing a cord-blood bank:
- How many samples of cord blood cells are processed in the facility? A larger number of samples would mean that they have a stable collection and handling procedures.
- Do they have the option of allowing you to switch to another facility if you want to.
- If the facility goes out of business what happens to your sample?
- How much does the facility charge you for fees and maintenance costs? Are the costs fixed or will it increase?
About the Author
Dr Tsou Jinyeu is a well known gynecologist and has been in this field since 1995. His special interests are – genetic and birth defects, high risk obstetrics, lupus in pregnancy, premature labour, premature delivery, triplets and ultrasound diagnosis. He is graduated from the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine. Nowdays he is working as a medical doctor at Elmhurst Loyola Center for Health.
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