Why Should a Baby's Cord Blood Be Banked?

When a couple welcome a new born in their family, there are a lot many thoughts circulating their minds regarding the child's future and their wellbeing. One such important factor to keep in mind is the preservation of the umbilical cord. In the past, the umbilical cord blood was instantly thrown away, but now researchers have revealed that the blood present in these cords have numerous health benefits and thus cord blood banking Calgary is gaining popularity.

Uses

The fluid of the umbilical cord houses numerous stem cells which help to overcome life threatening ailments. Health risks such as anemia, cancer and plenty of immunological disorders can be treated efficiently with these stem cells.

When it comes to the procedure of collecting these fluids, they are quite easy as compared to anesthetically extracted stem cells from bone marrow. On an account of numbers, the stem cells extracted from umbilical cord blood are 10 times richer with compatible fluids than those when extracted from bone marrow. There are also minimum chances of the cord blood carrying any infectious diseases. The chances of getting rejected by adult stem cells are also statistically halved when it comes to cord blood Calgary.

Storage

• Public cord banks offer free storage facilities. Those who are in urgent need of these fluids can collect it from the donor. The donated blood bank can also be used for research purposes.
• Private cord banks stores donated blood only for serving the family members of the donor. These blood banks are quite expensive. These commercial banks charge fees both for processing as well as on annual storage basis.
• Direct-donation banks serves the purpose of both the public and private banks when the need arises. Besides storing blood for public uses, they also accept donations which are reserved specifically for family purposes.

How to collect the blood?

After child birth, the doctors clamp the umbilical cord primarily in two places leaving a gap of 10 inches in between, which allows the baby to be separated from her mother. Thereafter the doctor injects a needle into the cord and collects 40 ml blood. The blood is immediately sealed and sent to the cord blood banking Calgary facility for storage or testing purposes. The process is totally painless and only takes about a few minutes to complete.