Cord blood is used for treating many genetic issues. This is the cord blood that is extracted from the placenta or umbilical cord after the baby is born. Cord blood has all the cells that are can be converted into stem cells for many medicinal purposes. This is the best substitute for bone marrow if and when required.
Donation of Cord Blood
People who are thinking about donating cord blood can just visit the official webpage of Cord Blood bank for any required information. This bank will not only store the blood but will also make sure that your blood is used for the people required if and when there is an emergency. Check their webpage for all the required information.
While collecting the cord blood from the baby’s placenta, the parents will be contacted to get approval. The permission will include listing the cord blood that is extracted from the baby’s placenta in the database so that the patients in need can make use of it, if and when required.
The identity of the cord blood donor will be kept a secret to safeguard the patient’s cord bank privacy. The blood that matches will be donated to the required person, after the consent of the donor.
Places to Donate
Some hospitals work with only selected cord blood banks that are available within their community. The procedure of cord blood extraction requires special training, and hence not all hospitals will have such required experts in their teams. The blood that should be stored will be first transported to the laboratory to make sure that the purity of the cells will be kept safe for a longer time till they are safely stored elsewhere.
The donation of cord blood is completely safe and also is a free procedure. This will not cause any damage to both the baby and the mother during the extraction process. When the OBGYN completes the procedure of separating the umbilical cord that connects the baby to the mother, the cord bank experts will get to work saving blood that is present within the cord. The cord bank will handle everything starting from the blood collection to their safe deposit in the bank from their end, once they are made aware of the situation.
Interested parents can contact the blood bank and let them know about their idea of storing cord blood. Blood is a rich source of stem cells that may be utilised for any treatment in the future days to save hundreds of lives in the future. FDA has approved more than 100 cord banks to store this blood till their further usage.
Benefits of Storing Cord Blood
Blood-related disorders such as lymphoma, leukaemia, sickle-cell anaemia, etc., and other such genetic disorders were once thought to be cured only with the help of a healthy bone marrow transplant. However, as the technology improved, the experts started using cord blood to extract the required stem cells that can do wonders in the body of the patients.
You can also store the cord blood today if you are expecting your baby. Contact the concerned cord blood bank with the help of your hospital to store your cord blood when the baby is born.
