Securing Your Baby's Future With Cord Blood Banking

Holding a tiny new born baby in your arms is an amazing feeling, and imagine the joy the tiny bundle of joy brings to its parents. No parent wants any harm to come to their child, and go out of their way to protect it. Even though nobody wants to imagine any ailment coming their child's way, but remember that you are the one who has to make the best choices for you child.

Storing umbilical blood after birth is a relatively new phenomenon, and it is important to spread awareness about it, to as many parents as possible. During the 1970's, it was discovered that the umbilical cord blood has the ability to supply the same kind of blood forming stem cells, as those supplied by a bone marrow donor. This was a little known fact, that the cord blood of a baby is an abundant source of dominant stem cells, and therefore, until recently the umbilical cord and placenta were deemed useless after birth.

Thanks to the new findings these cells provide ways to treat leukemia and immune system disorders. Instead of asking for donations of bone marrow or stem cells, the baby's own umbilical cord blood can be used, which is more effective. Storing umbilical cord blood after birth is totally up to the parents, because if you do not request for it before the delivery, the umbilical cord and placenta will be discarded after birth. Blood collection is not a complex process and does not require a lot of time, plus it does not pose any danger to the mother or the child. For this reason you should at least consider donating blood.

Storing umbilical cord blood after birth requires a special kit, and is not available if the parents have not notified the doctors in advance. So if you are interested in storing your baby's cord blood, then make sure you notify your physician in advance, so that they can make arrangements. There are two methods for collecting the blood, one being the syringe method and the other being the bag method, both are safe and painless. After the blood has been collected, it is then treated in a laboratory, and then stored in the blood bank like normal blood. Most people don't even have to make use of the blood, but it helps to be prepared for any situation before time. Especially if your family has a history of illness.