Something to consider before the birth of a baby is cord blood banking. If you’re unfamiliar with what this is exactly, you’re in the right place for some information on the topic!
July is Cord Blood Awareness Month, so as we come to the end of this
month, we over here at Sweet Peas thought we should take the opportunity to share what we know about the subject.
Cord blood is the blood from umbilical vessels that is collected after a newborn’s cord has been clamped and cut.
Because this collection is done after the placenta is delivered and the cord is no longer attached to the infant, the procedure is completely safe and risk free for both the birthing person and the newborn. When stored properly, banked cord blood has no expiration date.
Why would a parent want to consider collecting and banking cord blood?
This is no ordinary blood! It has within it blood-forming stem cells that can be used to treat blood cancers like leukemias and lymphomas. In addition, these stem cells can be used as a therapy for familiar disorders of the blood and immune systems, like sickle cell disease and lupus.
When considering banking cord blood, parents have some choices to make.
One option is to donate their cord blood to a public bank where it can be matched to a person in need of stem cell therapy. Public donation costs nothing but gives hope for many all over the world, as cord blood is often used as a substitute for bone marrow in stem cell transplants.
Another option is family, or private, cord blood banking. This means parents pay a private bank to store their baby’s cord blood indefinitely, giving them exclusive access to the stem cells in case of personal need. It’s important to note, however, that the stored blood may ultimately be unsuitable for the donor. As an example, a genetic disease or defect cannot be cured with cord blood that has the same disease or defect within it, and another match would need to be found.
Here are some fast facts about cord blood:
· Cord blood has been used in over 40,000 transplants worldwide
· Cord blood can be used to treat over 80 different diseases
· Cord blood therapies are not limited to transplants in children. Adults also benefit.
· Cord blood transplants have a 100% success rate
· Only 5-10% of all cord blood gets collected, and the rest (90-95%!) gets tossed out as medical waste
· You can delay cord clamping for 1 minute and still collect a suitable cord blood volume for banking
· Cord blood is a biological product that is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
· The FDA has a searchable database that keeps updated information on registered cord blood banks that you can access here.
To learn more about cord blood banking, visit Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation here, or click on this link to download their free Birth Plan Checklist.
If you have any questions or if you would like to discuss whether cord blood banking is right for your family, contact us at Info@SweetPeasBaby.com and we would be happy to have a conversation about it!
Sweet Peas Baby, LLC
611 K Street, Suite B
San Diego, CA 92101
(925) 768-3720
or Contact Us HERE