What is Cord Blood?
The blood that flows through the placenta and umbilical cord contains high levels of stem cells, which can develop to become red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Collecting your baby’s cord blood, also known as cord blood banking, is a procedure during which blood rich with stem cells (10X more than blood marrow) is collected from the umbilical cord following delivery. It is then frozen and stored in a cord bank, and can be used for research or preserved for use in a possible stem cell transplant.
Why collect your baby’s Cord Blood?
Cord blood is important because stem cells can be used as a treatment for many different diseases including cancers such a lymphoma and leukemia, inherited immune disorders, sickle cell disease and anemia, metabolic disorders, and other immune, neurological, or blood disorders. In other words, if your child or your child’s sibling needs treatment from any of these ailments in the future, cord blood stem cells may be able to be used for treatment.