The umbilical cord which connects the mother and baby during pregnancy is the life giver to the foetus. It contains the precious stem cells that exactly matching your baby's blood cells and can be used in the case of emergencies even after the growth of the baby to an adult. In case your child develops any life threatening diseases, transplantation of stem cells externally can be avoided and the cord blood can be used in fighting the disease. Hence, it is advisable not to discard this precious blood source once the baby is born.

The cord blood is collected immediately after delivery when it is separated from the newborn. It does not interfere with child birth, growth or development. It is stored in a sterile kit, sealed, and delivered to the lab for processing and preservation. The cord blood is either collected through a syringe or drained into a cord blood collecting bag. A unique number is written on the collected sample to identify the exact blood collected.

Stem cell extraction is very safe as the blood is collected only after the umbilical cord is separated from the baby. Hence, it would neither affect the baby nor the mother nor pose any side effects, harmful reactions or danger to life. The procedure is carried out at a later stage and a blood sample of the mother is taken only for processing the cord blood further.

Stem cells are used to treat various fatal diseases like lymphoma, leukaemia, blood diseases, Sickle Cell Anaemia, immune system disorders like Lupus and AIDS, genetic disorders like Multiple Sclerosis, Aplastic Anaemia, Hodgkin's Disease, certain types of cancers including the life-threatening blood and lung cancer. Since stem cells are "freshly collected" and "pure" as it is collected immediately after the birth of the baby, genetic complications would not have occurred and these cells can help in treatment of the complicated disorders caused by the mutation of genes.

Stem cells are common only in the case of identical twins and the composition differs from person to person. Hence, they may not exactly match a sibling. However, if they closely match the cells of a relative or a sibling, they may be used to treat the person who has contracted the disease.

Bone marrow transplantation procedure is used to transfer stem cells and is highly risky and complicated. Hence, if cord blood is preserved properly, most of the problems associated with transplants from bone marrows can be avoided during the entire lifetime. The transplant will not have any side effects since the own blood of the person is used and the body would not end up rejecting the stem cells.

The cord blood undergoes various tests and is performed along with the mother’s blood. It is tested for sterility and ensured that it is free from contamination. Once the viability of the cells is established, it is carefully preserved unless required at a later date.

You can store the cord blood by contacting a cord blood bank that is accredited by AABB (American Association of Blood Banks). It is like ‘insuring’ the stem cells for future use in case it is needed.

Jonathan Pitts

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