Newborn stem cells have incredible healing capabilities; they work like a “bio-repair kit,” helping to repair and restore tissues and replenish other cells. A single cell can replicate and become many cell types, making them essential to human development. When you cryogenically freeze the stem cells in your baby’s cord blood, the process preserves them in their purest possible form. There are many reasons to choose cord blood banking; here are our top four.
Family disease history
With over 80 diseases currently being treated with stem cells and many more undergoing research, banking your newborn’s stem cells opens up a world of medical possibilities. If you have family members with a disease that is being successfully treated with stem cells, storing cord blood can give you peace of mind. These include certain cancers and genetic blood disorders, such as leukaemia, lymphoma, non-hodgkins lymphoma, sickle-cell anaemia, and thalassemia.
Mixed race background
Opting to bank with a private cord blood bank can be especially valuable for ethnic minorities and mixed-race families, because it can be harder for them to find a donor match if they ever need stem cell treatment. By storing privately, they will have guaranteed access to family stem cells.
Increasing areas of research
Options and treatment opportunities are expanding all the time. As well as cord blood, cord tissue, placental tissue, cord vessel, and amnion placental tissue can all be collected and stored at birth. Stem cells from placental tissue have tremendous potential for use in regenerative medicine, and cord vessel and amnion placental tissue are also being assessed for regenerative procedures and their efficacy against serious diseases. Most recently, stem cells have been used to treat serious cases of COVID-19 by reducing inflammation in the lungs. With so much still be to discovered, we don’t know just how big a role stem cells might play in the future of healthcare.
Simple and safe
There are many benefits to gain from stem cell storage, and it’s important to know that collecting them at birth is completely safe and painless for both the mother and baby. This simple process can be done during a natural delivery or a c-section.