Cord Blood: What it is.

Every day, thousands of parents are choosing to give a powerful gift to their newborns: Cord Blood Banking. The following explains exactly what cord blood is and how, by storing it, you can help protect your baby's future health.

First things first. What is Cord Blood? The blood that remains in your baby's umbilical cord after it has been cut is called cord blood and is rich in stem cells. Stem cells are one of the most promising areas of medical treatment for a number of common illnesses such as heart disease and Alzheimer's. They're the body's "master" cells and can regenerate into the cells that form all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. Many families are now choosing to bank these genetically unique cord blood stem cells for the future health of their loved ones.

More information:

What is cord blood?

Cord blood, which is also called "placental blood," is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut. Cord blood is routinely discarded with the placenta and umbilical cord.Your baby's umbilical cord blood is a valuable source of stem cells, which are genetically unique to your baby and family.


What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the body's "master" cells because they create all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body.The stem cells found in cord blood are the building blocks of your blood and immune system and most readily reproduce into:Red Blood Cells - which carry oxygen to all the cells in the bodyWhite Blood Cells - which fight infectionPlatelets - which aid in clotting in the event of injuryThere are three sources where stem cells are commonly found, they are:
Bone MarrowPeripheral Blood (the blood that circulates through your body)Umbilical Cord Blood The ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate, or change into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds significant promise for improving the treatment of some of the most common diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's.


How are stem cells used?

Currently, stem cells are primarily used in transplant medicine to regenerate a patient's blood and immune system after they have been treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation to destroy cancer cells. At the same time the chemotherapy and radiation destroys the cancer cells in a patient, they also destroy stem cells. Therefore, an infusion of stem cells or a stem cell transplant is performed after the chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. The stem cells then migrate to the patient's bone marrow where they multiply and regenerate all of the cells to create a new blood and immune system for the patient. The promise of using stem cells for medical treatments has been the focus of research projects that are showing encouraging results. Cord blood stem cells have been "triggered" to differentiate into neural cells, which could lead to treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. They have also proven their ability to turn into blood vessel cells, which could some day benefit treatments for heart disease, allowing patients to essentially "grow their own bypass."


Are cord blood stem cells different than other types of stem cells?

Yes. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are the "youngest," safely available stem cells and they are the product of another miracle - a live birth. Freezing these cells essentially stops the clock and prevents aging and damage that may occur to the cells later in life. Another source of stem cells, embryonic stem cells, has been at the heart of heated debate. Currently, embryonic stem cells are not being used to treat humans. A third category of stem cells is adult stem cells, such as those found in bone marrow. Adult stem cells serve very specialized roles in children and adults and are not as proliferative as those found in cord blood.