Cord Blood Banking & Stem Cells

Banking cord blood, or, more specifically, stem cell banking, provides biological insurance in the event your child becomes ill and needs stem cell treatment. That’s because cord blood stem cells are a perfect genetic match to your child. And when properly collected from the umbilical cord of your newborn baby at the time of delivery and properly stored at an accredited, FDA-registered cord blood bank, such as LifeLine Cryogenics, cord blood can often be used years later to treat potentially life-threatening blood-cell-related diseases, such as leukemia, thalassemia, and sickle-cell anemia.

Indeed, today stem cell treatments derived from cord blood are being used to fight over 70 diseases, including leukemia, diabetes, heart disease, cerebral palsy, and Alzheimer’s disease. And the list of benefits of cord blood stem cells – and reasons to bank cord blood – continues to grow.

Because umbilical cord blood (“cord blood” for short) is a perfect genetic match to your baby’s blood, cord blood stem cells are doctors’ preferred choice for treating diseases, such as leukemia. Many times, cord blood stem cells can also be used to treat members of the same biological family.

Cord blood banking is especially recommended for multiethnic families where a genetic match may be more difficult, and babies conceived using an egg and/or sperm donor.

Cord blood banking is a simple, totally safe, painless procedure. Cord blood is collected at the time of delivery by a doctor, nurse, or midwife from the baby’s umbilical cord, after it has been detached. Then the cord blood is sent to a cord blood bank, such LifeLine Cryogenics, where the cord blood stem cells are carefully extracted and frozen for future use.

The decision to bank your baby’s cord blood provides families with more options for treating potentially life-threatening medical conditions – as well as peace of mind.

For additional information on cord blood and stem cells, visit the following sites (by clicking on the link):
stemcells.nih.gov
www.parentsguidecordblood.org