Having a baby is probably the most exciting event in every parent’s life and it is no surprise that parents will wonder and worry about their children’s future. Although most of parent’s worries and thoughts revolve around positive aspects some do worry the thought of their children becoming very ill. For this reason, cord blood banking is a topic that is popular among expecting mothers especially those who have family history of serious illness.
After the birth of the baby the placenta is released from the mother’s body. In the past, the placenta was thrown out; however, it was then discovered that the umbilical cord blood supplies blood forming stem cells similar to that of a bone marrow donor. This discovery led to the collection and storage of cord blood cells.
The blood is collected using a small tube that is passed in to the umbilical vein and is placed in storage bags and sent to the cord blood bank. At the cord bank stem cells are separated from blood and are stored for future usage.
Finding a bone marrow donor may be difficult and this thought leads a lot of parents to take precautionary measures and reach out to cord blood banking. Although, it is done in the best interest of the child there are pros and cons involved with cord blood banking.
Some of the pros involved with cord blood banking are as follows:
- Offers peace of mind and acts as an insurance to some extent
