What is Cord Blood Banking All About?

Cord blood banking has become increasingly popular over the past few years. It is a process in which the blood from your baby's umbilical cord is removed and stored minutes after birth.

The cord blood has vital stem cells that can be turned into other kinds of blood cells for use in treating various diseases, including certain types of cancers.

You can have it stored privately, or in a public 'bank'. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Saving it privately is expensive (usually costing an initial $1000, then $100 annual storage fee), but it is yours to use if the occasion ever arises (which hopefully won't!).

Saving the cord blood in a public bank is free, although anyone may use it if required, so it may not necessarily be available to you if the need arises.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for each child born, as the cord blood can only be saved minutes after birth.

The likelihood of ever having to use cord blood is rather remote - somewhere around 1/2700. If you or any of your children suffer from some sort of disease that can be treated using stored cord blood, it would be advisable to have your baby's cord blood saved and harvested.

What Types of Diseases Would Stem Cells Treat?

The stem cells can be used to treat over 40 different diseases, including certain cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma; genetic diseases; blood disorders and immune system deficiencies, to name a few.

With continuing research, these stem cells may actually be used to treat additional diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer's, spinal cord injuries and nerve/tissue regeneration.

There are a variety of companies out there, such as:

Cord Blood Bank of Canada (cordbloodbankofcanada.com)
Lifebank (lifebank.com)
Cord Blood Society of Canada (cordbloodsociety.com)
Cord Blood Registry (cordblood.com)

Most OBGYN offices will have brochures and posters advertising their services. It is worth investigating.