Decision to Save a Baby’s Cord Blood

Why should I save my baby’s cord blood? That is a question many new parents ask.  In all truth, there are many reasons to bank your baby’s cord blood, including parental security and peace of mind, future protection for you newborn baby against a number of cord blood stem cell treateable diseases, as well as a once in a lifetime opportunity to obtain a genetically perfect stem cell match for your infant.

Parental Security and Piece of Mind

Parents that decide to bank their baby’s cord blood have a sense of security and reasssurance, that should a life threatening disease ever affect their child, they will have the stem cells available for a potential cure and treatment.

Cord Blood Stem Cell Potential Uses

Many parents understand that stem cells from cord blood offer protection from a variety of diseases, inclusing cancer and leukemia.  They also realize that stem cell research is rapidly evolving with ground breaking discoveries, and is being used to help develop treatments for currently untreatable diseases and conditions.

Cord blood may also help treat cancer and other blood disorders in direct family members and siblings, assuming they are a match.  This is a tremendous benefit that could help reduce complications and give a better quality of life for the baby or those family members who recieve the stem cell transplant.

Some families with pre-existing conditions and a history of certain disorders may find cord blood banking an additional comfort should the stem cell need ever arise.

Adoption and In Vitro

Parents who adopt a newborn infant, or parents who have in vitro fertility treatments elect to bank their baby’s cord blood because they may not get another chance to have an exact genetic stem cell match.

With a newborn adoption, the baby’s cord blood stem cells will more than likely not match the parent’s stem cells, so as  an ‘insurance’ of sorts,  they opt to bank the cord blood.  This may be the only chance they have to secure this valuable specimen.

In regards to in vitro fertility treatments, the couple may or may not have the option to obtain cord blood stem cells genetically matched to their baby, so cord blood banking is always a strong option to insure the baby will have his or her own stem cells if need be.

Since this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire these unique cord blood stem cells, many parents opt to to secure and insure their baby’s future health.

Photo by Peasap under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0