Cord Blood Storage Advantages

As your pregnancy comes to an end, there are certainly many things to do to get ready for the baby. There are also a number of decisions to be made about the baby’s name, about breastfeeding, about using clothe diapers, and more. One important decision is the decision to store cord blood. There are a number of benefits of storing cord blood, and reasons to consider doing so.

The Advantages of Storing Cord Blood

Cord blood that is taken from the umbilical cord after the baby is born can be used to help with a bone marrow transplant. If someone in your family has a family medical history of disease, then cord blood banking might be a good choice. The blood that is found in the placenta and in the umbilical cord can help a family member who needs stem cells if they are having a bone marrow transplant. These would include situations where someone has leukemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and immune deficiencies of many kinds.

An Insurance Plan

When you decide to store cord blood, you are doing it as an insurance plan. When you buy a homeowner’s insurance policy, you hope that you’ll never use your flood insurance or your earthquake insurance. Although you don’t want to use this insurance, you still buy the policy so that you are protected in the event of a problem. Cord blood banking is the same idea. You pay to store the cord blood in a private bank, with the hopes that you’ll never need it. You want to know, however, that those stem cells are available to you should you need them. Should someone in the family become sick and need a bone marrow transplant, you’ll know that you invested wisely and have the stem cells to offer to that family member.

Sleep Well

The main reason that cord blood banking has increased in popularity so much since it began in the 1970s is because of peace of mind. We all want the best for our children, of course. Opting to undergo this non-invasive procedure in order to store cord blood makes sense to many people. They know that they can sleep well, having cord blood stored in the event that there should be a health issue in the family in the future.

Storing for the Future

Finally, people choose to store cord blood with an eye to the future. At the moment, the technology only allows the stem cells from cord blood to be used for bone marrow transplants. The hope, however, is that medical technology will continue to advance, and that the stored cord blood will be used for other purposes in the future. Storing stem cells in the present allows a family to be included if future discoveries are made, and to be part of any future cures that may be found.

These are some of the many advantages to storing cord blood. There are certainly disadvantages to having it done as well, and these should be researched before any decision is made. Cord blood banking is a relatively new technology and one that promises hope and security to many.