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Save Your Life With Cord Blood
By Kyle McBride
So what exactly is "cord blood" and what does it mean for you?
The simple answer is that cord blood stem cells could very well
save the life of you or a loved one. Please read on¡
Cord blood comes from the umbilical cord and it is rich in stem
cells, which are the building blocks of all of your organs. Saving
cord blood guarantees that you will have genetically matched
stem cells available in the chance that your child or another
family member suffer from a treatable blood disorder or need to
one day have bone marrow transplantation. Even people that
are unrelated to the cord blood donor could possibly be a match.
Expectant parents are now deciding whether to store their
baby's umbilical cord blood for possible medical benefit later in
life. The best way to look at cord blood is as an insurance policy.
Not just for the baby but for the potential health benefit of
parents, siblings, other family members or even complete
strangers.
To date, cord blood stem cells have been used in over 7,000
cases to treat blood disorders, leukemia lymph gland disorders
and some genetic diseases. Researchers believe that cord blood
might one day be used to repair nerve or heart tissues
damaged by Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, strokes and
spinal cord injuries.
At present, Congress is enacting legislation that will create a
national registry of cord blood donated by the parents of
newborns, which has successfully been used in stem cell
transplantation between strangers.
Right now, keeping cord blood stored in one of twenty or so
private blood banks costs around $2,000 upfront and $100 a
year to maintain it's storage. Even with low monthly payment
plans, banking cord blood can be relatively expensive. But that
may change in the near future, as new systems are developed
to maintain the banks.
Without a doubt, this technology is going to be the future of
medicine. Many members of Congress strongly support banking
cord blood "as long as people understand that they're spending
money on something we don't have a complete answer for just
yet."
Medical experts generally agree that the parents coming to the
decision on whether to bank or not should consider the three
major factors: ethnicity, family history of disease, and current
finances.
Keep in mind that minorities in need of bone marrow transplants
often have a harder time finding genetic matches through donor
programs because most of the holdings are from white donors.
Cord blood stem cells would help persons that are genetically
predisposed to certain medical ailments. Those people and
interracial couples should try to bank privately or make
arrangements to donate for the potential benefit of an
anonymous recipient. Also, anyone who has had a relative go
through a stem cell transplant or has a family history of auto
immune disease or cancer would probably want the peace of
mind of having cord blood on hand.
And for everyone else, the promising medicine of the future may
yield even more uses for this type of stem cell so consider it as
cheap insurance that ultimately may save the life of you, a loved
one, or even a complete stranger. There are few reasons why
one would not want to utilize this cutting edge science of cord
blood stem cells. Now that you are armed with this information,
you are encouraged to share it with friends and family so that
modern science may possibly improve their lives in the not so
distant future.
About the Author
Kyle McBride knows science. For cutting edge updates to the newest scientific discoveries visit: http://www.cord-blood-stem-cells.info
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/13996.html
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