The month of July is observes as Cord Blood Awareness month.
Cord blood is very important and an important tool to fight against many blood
related disorders in infants and adults
Learn about the 7 basis thing you need to know about cord
blood.
5 THINGS WE
NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORD BLOOD
1. WHAT IS CORD BLOOD?
Cord blood or umbilical cord blood is
the blood that remains in the placenta after delivery and also in the attached
umbilical cord.
2. HOW IS IT USEFUL?
Cord blood is useful because it is a source
of stem cells which are capable to be converted into any of the blood cells,
i.e. RBCs, WBCs and platelets that form into blood cells. Cord blood can be
used for transplantation in people who need regeneration, that is, ‘regrowth,’
of these blood-forming cells as in any form of blood disorder such as Leukemia
(Blood cancer), Sickle Cell Anemia and other genetics related blood
abnormalities.
3. HOW IS IT STORED?
The
method most commonly used in clinical practice is the "closed technique",
in which the technician cannulates the vein of the severed umbilical cord using
a needle that is connected to a blood bag, and cord blood flows through the
needle into the bag. On average, the closed technique enables collection of
about 75 ml of cord blood.
Collected cord blood is cryopreserved (it is
frozen and can be safely stored for many years. This method of freezing is called
cryopreservation and is very important to maintain the integrity of the cells
and then stored in a cord blood bank for future transplantation). Cord blood
collection is typically depleted of red blood cells before cryopreservation to
ensure high rates of stem cell recovery.
4. WHO
CAN USE THIS CORD BLOOD?
You may choose to store your baby’s cord blood
in a private cord blood bank so it can be available if needed in the future by
your child or first- or second-degree relatives (siblings or cousins).
Or you may donate the cord blood to a public
bank so that doctors can use for a patient who needs a hematopoietic stem cell
transplant.
5. IS IT
FDA APPROVED OR JUST AN EXPERIMENTAL THERAPY?
Cord blood is approved only for use in
“hematopoietic stem cell transplantation” procedures, which are done in
patients with disorders affecting the hematopoietic (blood forming) system.
Cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells that can be used in the treatment
of patients with blood cancers such as leukemia (blood cancer) and lymphomas,
as well as certain disorders of the blood and immune systems, such as sickle
cell disease and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (is a rare X-linked recessive disease
characterized by eczema, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), immune
deficiency, and bloody diarrhea).
6. CORD
BLOOD CAN BE STORED FOR OVER 20 YEARS:
Science shows cord blood can be stored for
over 22.5 years and still function as expected, providing you and your family
with peace of mind from infancy through to adulthood.
7. WILL
MY BABY BE ABLE TO USE HIS OWN CORD BLOOD?
It's unlikely your child will need cord-blood
treatment with the therapies that are proven to work today. That's because many
diseases or conditions a child is born with may also be present in the
extracted stem cells. Current odds of a child's own cord blood being used for
treatment are 1 in 2,700.
But new clinical trials are looking at
therapies for other disorders, and those therapies would use a child's own cord
blood. Tests now under way include looking at whether cord blood can be used to
successfully treat autism, pediatric stroke, brain injuries, cerebral palsy and
hearing loss.
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