The trend of preserving the cord blood stem cell of newborn babies is extremely becoming popular among new and expected parents. This process includes collection and storage of blood retrieved from cord blood of the baby just after the birth. After undergoing several steps of quality test and processing, stem cells are preserved for future use. As stem cells are potent of treating 80+ diseases, parents wishing to secure their child’s health take a keen interest in this process.
However, before signing up for anything interested parents should be aware of the pros and cons of the cord blood stem cells storage.
Pros
Helps to recover from chemotherapy
Stem cell treatment can help patients recover from various cancer treatments, like chemotherapy. Treating cancers involve several aggressive methods, like radiation which kills many healthy cells along with cancerous ones. With stem cells retained from cord blood, healthy cells can be introduced back into the body making the recovery easier and faster.
Treatment of fatal diseases
Stem cell therapy is used to treat many fatal diseases including several types of cancer, leukemia, immunodeficiency disorders, etc.
Stem Cell Treatment
Stem cell treatment has been used for a long time for the treatment of several diseases. However, earlier stem cells for this purpose was used to retrieve from bone marrow. But now, with the advent of cord blood stem cell process, it is possible to retain stem cells from the umbilical cord of the baby which ultimately goes to trash. Stem cell collected from this procedure reduces the risk of rejection by the body of the person receiving them.
Can be Donated
If expected parents do not wish to use their baby’s cord blood or not in a position to spend heavy yearly fee incurred for the preservation of stem cells, they may choose to donate it to a public bank.
Cons
Limited to Certain Diseases
The stem cell treatment can be used to treat only for a fixed number of diseases.
Costly
Storing cord blood is undoubtedly an expensive option which may not fit everyone’s budget. As most cord blood banks are run privately, they come with an annual fee for storage.
Used to Treated only Uncommon Diseases
Most of the diseases which are treated by cord blood treatment are not common, so it is possible that you might never need it.
Before you consider preserving the cord blood cells of your baby, it is wise to weigh pros and cons of the process. However, always decide in favor of the health of your child.
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