What Is Cord Blood?
Cord blood is the excess blood that remains in the umbilical cord of a woman after giving birth. Measuring approximately one cup, this extra blood – which is normally discarded by hospitals – can still be of use. It contains immature blood cells that can grow and develop into different types. These cord blood cells work in the same way as bone marrow cells do in a bone marrow transplant. They can be stored for an extended period of time for a later use. Hence, if enough cord blood is available, it can help treat patients without delay. C ord blood can actually save lives.
Diseases it can treat
Since the late 1980s, cord blood has been used to treat a number of genetic disorders, cancers, and blood illnesses. The diseases that can be treated using cord blood transfusion includes anemia, congenital cytopenia, cancer (including brain tumor, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, lung cancer, Ewing's sarcoma, multiple myeloma, and nueroblastoma), Gunter's disease, Hunter syndrome, leukemia (including acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, juvenile leukemia, and plasma cell leukemia), lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, Omenn syndrome, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sly syndrome, among many others.
Who needs cord blood ?
As part of their treatment, cancer patients – particularly those with leukemia – may need bone marrow or cord blood transplant. Many patients die due to the inability to find an appropriate cord blood donor or the delay of getting one. If cord blood is available the moment it is needed, lives can be miraculously saved.
However, the type of cord blood to be transfused should be a match to the patient first. This can be done by conducting special tests to match the number of tissue groups in the blood to that of the patient's. If the cord blood matches the patient's blood, it can then be transfused into the patient just like in a normal blood transfusion procedure. Because stored cord blood is frozen, it can be kept in liquid nitrogen for a long period of time.
Donating
Due to the overwhelming benefits of cord blood , health institutions are very much in need of cord blood donors.
The process of donating cord blood is proven to be medically safe. It does not pose any health risk to the mother or the baby. However, if the mother or the baby experiences any kind of complication during birth, the doctor will not continue taking the cord blood anymore .
Before any cord blood donation can be made, donors will be asked to undergo special cord blood tests to determine whether their blood carries infectious diseases. This will prevent the transmission of harmful diseases to the recipient.