While pregnant, this is one of the important question that keeps arriving in front of your family, Cord Blood Banking. Here are a few things you need to know about it:
What is Cord Blood?
Your baby is connected with your placenta through the umbilical Cord which contains three vessels, two of them are arteries which carry blood from the baby to the placenta and a larger vein, which carries blood back to the baby. It carries oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s placenta into the baby’s bloodstream and bring back the waste products like carbon dioxide, from your baby to the placenta.
It is usually 60 cm long which allows the baby to move freely inside you without harming it.
Why is cord blood so important?
Once your baby’s cord is cut, there is some blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord known as cord blood. This blood is rich in stem cells as found in bone marrow and can be used to treat many life threatening conditions such as Cancer, immunity related issues, genetic disorders to name a few.
This is the reason why Cord Blood Banking is gaining a lot of importance these days. It can save a life in the future incase if you or someone else ever needs it.
What is done with my placenta after the baby is born?
Your placenta and the umbilical cord contains a very precious blood known as cord blood which is used to treat a lot of life threatening diseases and disorders.
As the normal medical practice, your placenta as well as the umbilical cord is all thrown as medical waste after your baby is delivered.
What if I don’t want to throw away this precious blood?
You have an option to opt for cord bank banking where in the experts will arrive at the time of delivery and will remove this precious blood and will send it for life long storage to cord bank. Its important that you understand the two type of cord blood banking available.
1- Private Cord Blood Banking: These private units store the blood solely for you and your family. This blood will be stored life long for your use only. Since this is a service only for you, it has a cost involved. You can refer to the various options available for you to find the cost of this service
2- Public Cord Blood Banking: These public units accepts your donations and store the blood for public use. This means that this bloods is either used for public or for any research work in this field. This blood is not kept for your private use. Many people who do not opt for private blood banking due to high cost, opt for donating the same.
NHS also accepts your donations, however since it is again a public cord banking unit, the same is used for anybody in need. In case you or any of your family member need the same in future, NHS will check if they still own your donation. For more details, please visit https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk
