by Chakira Ward

Created on: May 02, 2009

As parents, we should be aware of all things that will benefit our children's futures, whether it be medical, financial, or educational etc. Preserving your child's cord blood is a simple and painless procedure that can benefit your child, a sibling or relative in the future. If properly stored, the cord blood should last about 10 years.

The procedure takes blood from the umbilical cord at birth and stores it for free in a private blood bank. Because this blood is rich in stem cells, it can someday be used as treatment if your child ever became ill with certain diseases such as....Leukemia, Sickle Cell Anemia, Lymphoma or other illnesses. Stem cells are immature cells that can reproduce themselves and have the potential to turn into other types of cells.

The stem cells are injected to replenish the blood supply with new healthy cells, the cells can also help the body recover from some cancer treatments like chemotherapy or radiation. Cells from cord blood are less mature than an adult's so a recipient's body is less likely to reject them. Cord blood is proven to be an effective source of blood-forming stem cells for people with certain diseases.

The current uses for cord blood are limited, but experts hope that stem cells will be a crucial part of future treatments such as...diabetes, heart failure, stroke, and many other conditions. Currently, the medical society seems to be more concerned with the cost of storing the cord blood. Blood banks may charge up to $1800 for the initial processing, as well as an annual storage fee of approximately $100. That is pretty expensive, being that the odds of using the stored cord blood are very low, there have only been 6,000 reported cord blood transplants.

Due to these expenses, the American Academy of Pediatrics would like parents to be aware that if the child's illness is a genetic disease, his or her own cord blood isn't going to help, it will have the same genetic flaws. Also, cord blood isn't the only possible treatment for these diseases, stem cells can be donated from a family member or a bone marrow bank. The diseases in children that can be treated with their own cord blood stem cells are very rare.

If you are considering storing your child's cord blood, talk it over with your physician, and more importantly, do what you think would be best for your child, illnesses are never planned.The odds of using the cord blood may be low, but so are the odds of winning the lottery, and people win everyday. You can never be too cautious when your children are involved.

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