All about Umbilical Cord Blood

Umbilical Cord blood is the blood that is available in the umbilical cord of a new born baby. Earlier to the invention of stem cell technology, cord blood was discarded as waste. Nowadays, this blood is being used for treating dreadful diseases like leukemia or cancers. The Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells and can be processed to extract the stem cells.

There are a lot of private and public cord blood banks, which can help you to donate your child’s cord blood. The cord blood banks collect, process and store the cord blood for future use. One needs to get in touch with the cord blood banks to donate the cord blood of one’s child.

After the birth of a child the umbilical cord is clamped at both the ends and the blood is collected with the help of a small pipe. Then the blood is transferred to a bag or syringe, which is taken to the cord blood bank. The cord blood is then processed to extract the stem cells. The stem cells are then cryogenically frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored for future use.

The procedure of collection is very simple during a normal delivery, but if there is a cesarean delivery then the blood is collected after suturing the uterus of the mother. The c-section delivery is a little complicated, hence the health of the mother and the child is given a higher priority.

The donation of umbilical cord blood is surrounded by controversy as some medical researchers believe that the stem cells cannot be used after very long storage. They also feel that the health of the newborn baby can be at risk due to the donation of the essential blood; a part of the umbilical cord blood generally returns into the body of the baby.

Cord blood is still believed to be one of the future technologies that can change the way diseases are treated.