How to Donate to Cord Blood Banks

Donating your baby cord blood is a chance to save lives through the use of baby’s umbilical cord, and there is no risk to the mother, unlike a bone marrow procedure. It contains stem cells which can save lives. Cord blood can only be harvested at birth. Additionally more stem cells can be collected via placenta cord banking. It’s easier to match patients with cord blood transplants.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Establishing public cord blood banks can save many lives in the process. You save the cord blood transplant for future use, and if you every need it is there. Before being stored there are tests done to insure its quality including: HIV and Hepatitis B & C, and tissue typing, to determine HLA type. Recovery is better from patients that are related. If your child ever needs it, it’s there for them and they have better treatment options because of it. There is no reason not to save cord blood, but it can't be clamped too soon after birth.

2. Cord blood transplants cord blood causing less grafting. They have to have matching HLA types, which are inherited from your parents. There is a much better match with cord blood with siblings than other donor programs.

3. Banking cord blood cost the parents, because cord blood is processed by a laboratory unlike bone marrow which is a databank registry. The cord blood is frozen with liquid nitrogen and monitored. There are different cord banking possibilities both public and private.

4. Cost varies, but it costs about $2000 for collection of a blood cord and $125 per year to maintain, and the rules are very strict. There is also free donation institutions, although there isn’t enough funding to maintain for the storage and processing of these programs, public banks are limited. There are financial programs available, based on medical need.

5. There is controversy over further medical research using the banking of the cord blood donations, and the assessment for future use. By the year 2015 the bone marrow program estimates there will be 10,000 cord blood transplants yearly. It is very important to have repositories for the cord blood donations. There are many different blood and immune diseases that the stem cell is used for. Including genetic, cancers, and blood disorders that are treated with cord blood donations expanding the life span of an individual. Especially in children, can be life saving in rare cases where bone marrow is hard to find and life threatening.

6. Cord blood banking started in the United States but has been adopted all over the world now. More people should be aware of the benefits of cord blood banking and take advantage of the benefits from it.

Resources

• http://parentsguidecordblood.org/
• http://www.ehow.com/members/pepper0617.html?view=3rd

[momandwife]

on 2/4/2009 Coupon code M9999 saves you $250 when you enroll with Cord Blood Registry. This coupon does not expire and can be used multiple times by different moms. More details about the coupon can be found at www.cbr-coupon.com.

Enroll online at www.cordblood.com

[Gardengates]

on 11/24/2008 Interesting subject with good information about umbilical cords.

[MomWhoWrites]

on 11/24/2008 I asked about this with my last daughter and it is a wonderful thing but how many people with a new baby have that kinda money lying around. lol. Hopefully, someday it will come standard with all births. :-) Great Article and Information!!