Cord Blood Banking
Posted on August 26, 2008
Filed Under Healthy |
Cord blood banking is an incredible advancement in the field of medicine. Newspapers, journals, television news stories, articles, and websites are loaded with information about this amazing feat achieved by the medical experts.
But what exactly are diseases that the cord blood banking will help you save your child from? Stem cells that are preserved due to the cord blood banking can actually help a child be cured of the following life-threatening illnesses: leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, Hodgkin?s disease, aplastic anemia, various other cancers, sickle cell anemia, blood diseases, hereditary/genetic conditions and various immune system disorders. There are actually an approximate of 14 million new cancer cases that are being recoded every year. Single cell transplants that can be brought about by cord blood banking can also be used for the treatment of ling cancer, AIDS, lupus, multiple sclerosis as well as many other genetic diseases.
Cord blood stem cells can be used to treat diseases and conditions such as leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, anemia, sickle cell disease, inherited red cell abnormality, lymphoma, plasma cell disorder, neuroblastoma and myeloma. Today, there are over 75 different diseases, immune deficiencies and other conditions that are treated with cord blood successfully. With the advancement of stem cell research, there is likely to be more uses for cord blood in the future.
If there is a family medical history or your child has a predisposition to any of these diseases, you should seriously consider cord blood banking. Parents of children of ethnic or racial minorities and children conceived through in vitro fetilization are encouraged to bank cord blood as it is more difficult to find bone marrow match in these cases. Only 50% of people that need a bone marrow or stem cell transplant are likely to find a suitable donor to provide it.
Stem cells from umbilical cord blood have successfully been used in treating more than 70 non-malignant as well as malignant diseases, including leukemia, sickle cell anemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, life-threatening anemia, various types of cancer, and auto-immune conditions.
The cord blood banking process can be costly for a private storage facility, starting at $2000 but the protection that it offers far outweighs the costs. In addition, many families find that this is an ideal way to protect the child as well as other family members from potentially fatal diseases or conditions. The ongoing stem cell research for treatment of diseases is promising. Cord blood stem cells offer great potential for treating more auto-immune and degenerative diseases. Banking cord blood can provide medical insurance for your child or other family members now and in the future.
There are still not enough cord blood donations taking place that will provide for the necessary help needed to cure conditions like cancer and leukemia. Yet, with more people considering cord blood banking, whether privately or publicly, it is likely that more miracles can happen. Through better education, more parents will see the true benefits of cord blood banking.
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