Blood preservation sounds like a good idea, right? Have you ever heard of preserving your cord blood? Many different cord blood companies explain that cord blood, or umbilical cord blood, is what is left over in the umbilical cord after the baby’s birth. Normally, this blood is not kept after the birth — it is discarded; but it contains stem cells that can be very helpful. There are more than 45 life-threatening diseases that can be treated using stem cells. Cord blood preservation is a good idea because if you or your family has need of it in the future, those stem cells will be there, and they will be a great match to your family line.
Something else that contains stem cells is bone marrow. But what are stem cells? According to parentsplace.com, they “are the building blocks of the blood and the immune system and potentially the nervous system, skin and bone tissue, and the heart, pancreas and other central body tissues.” What do these special cells create by dividing? They make red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (these help blood to clot).
Consider preservation of the cord blood because these cord blood stem cells are used to treat a lot of problems such as certain types of cancer (leukemia for example) and other things like immune and genetic disorders.
You can only do the preservation of the cord blood once. The collection of it happens right after birth, and only takes a couple of minutes. It won’t hurt and is easy. It is also good to know that no risk is involved in its collection to the mother or the baby. The umbilical cord is usually discarded after birth. When you decide to preserve the blood inside, the only change is that the blood will be removed before the umbilical cord is discarded.
If you go to www.viacord.com you will find ViaCord, a ViaCell Company. You can learn about cord blood banking here. They will give you a free cord blood information kit. Click on the link and fill out your name and address and they will send the information packet to you. They even have a box you can check if you would like to speak to a representative to get more information. They have a question and answer page here with questions such as “What if I am having multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.)” or “What if I am planning on banking cord blood for more than one child? Is this necessary?” There’s information here on the collection process, storage, the ViaCord Company and using stored cord blood.
If you go to www.babyzone.com, you can find articles on cord blood as well. Some featured articles include, “Anatomy of the Fetus: The Umbilical Cord,” “Considering Cord Blood Preservation For Your Baby,” “Cord Blood Donation” (a description of how this special blood could save the lives of those in need of a transplant), “Cord Blood Retrieval,” and “Prenatal Tests” (genetic testing). Have a look at these websites and any other good ones you may encounter. It’s worth your time to consider this type of blood preservation.
By Laura Hogg