Cord Blood Transplant Patient Age
There is no age requirement for a patient to get a cord blood transplant. As long as an individual needs a cord blood transfusion, the procedure should be done right away. Cord blood transplant can be done on anyone as long as the recipient is a match of the donor's cord blood, has undergone blood tests, and there is doctor's consent for the transplant to take place.
Age variations
The cord blood transplant patient age varies according to how young or how old the individual is. Statistics, however, show that most transplant patients fall under the age range of 18 years old and below. Surprisingly, this means that children, including babies and toddlers, are more susceptible to and suffer from infectious diseases that require cord blood and stem cell transplant than adults. Nonetheless, even if cord blood transplant is rare among individuals over the age of 18, they are still not exempted from the life-threatening diseases that can require cord blood transplant.
In a study by the 2005 Patient Statistics Report on Cord Blood Transplants Worldwide, more than 500 cord blood transplant patients, or 27 percent of the total sample population, fall under the “age 18+” classification. Almost one-third of the given age group – approximately 147 patients – was between 40 years old and 69 years old. Therefore, the remaining percentage is allotted to children and adolescents who underwent cord blood transplant procedures.
Cord blood transplant patient age seems to be young. According to statistics, out of the 1,945 cord blood transplant patients worldwide, 372 patients (or 19 percent) are individuals aged zero to one year old; 386 patients (or 20 percent) are two to five years old; 433 patients (or 22 percent) are six to 11 years old; and 238 patients (or 12 percent) are 12 to 17 years old. All in all, these numbers total to 1,429 (or 73.5 percent) individuals who are under the age of 18 and are suffering from infectious diseases that need cord blood transfusion for treatment such as cancer, leukemia, spinal cord disorders, muscle injuries, and heart diseases.
Prevention at a young age
Children, anyone from newborn babies to adolescents, undergo cord blood transplant procedures more than adults because they are more susceptible to infectious diseases. They are exposed to harmful viral infections, pollution, and other foreign elements that are responsible in weakening their immune system. Without enough healthy blood cells to help fight against deadly diseases, their bodies become weak and dysfunctional. Medical procedures such as cord blood transfusion and stem cell transplant are important in bringing back the body's normal functions and processes.
Although cord blood transplants are almost always successful, the best defense against fatal diseases is still healthy living and healthy maintenance of the body. These should be practiced during childhood because it is during this time that the body becomes weak and vulnerable if not properly cared for.