Cord Blood Stem Cells Information

cord blood?

where do they usually keep the baby's cord blood once you have the baby?and is it for the baby only if the baby needed a blood transfusion?

Public Comments

1. no, cord blood contains stem cells which they say can cure certain cancers and things. it has nothing to do with blood transfusions. they store it in storage facilities. i think via cords is in arizona. i heard though its kind of useless and they used scare tactics to make you feel guilty for not doing it. its very expensive to do also. my friend's son died of leukemia, the cord blood they banked was useless.
2. They only keep it if you pay to bank it. Research cord blood banking, I think its a crock. Well, not completely useless but I dont think it is as awesome as "they" claim. The AAP doesn't even recommend it!
3. I'm only a Lab Assistant in a hospital, aka, i only take the blood. But i'm sure they run different tests on the blood, typing and checking for antibodies. I think thats how they determine whether or not the mom needs the Rhogam shot. Not 100% sure, but interesting question!
4. They dont unless you want to pay up to 1500.00 for collection and another 100.00 a month storage fee...its a complete waste of money IMO...with todays technology the chances of you needing to use it are very slim!
5. The cord blood is stored in approved storage facilites that are inspected and regulated. The cost of storing is approximately $100 PER YEAR, not per month. Uses for the cord blood: The stem cells taken from your baby’s cord blood may serve as a life saver down the road for your baby, a sibling or even one of the parents. Here is a list of diseases and conditions that may possibly be treated by stem cells: Acute Leukemias: Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia Autoimmune Diseases: Evan Syndrome Multiple Sclerosis (Experimental) Rheumatoid Arthritis (Experimental) Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Experimental) Chronic Leukemias: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) Juvenile Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (JCML) Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML) Congenital (Inherited) Immune System Disorders: Absence of T & B Cells SCID Absence of T Cells, Normal B Cell SCID Ataxia-Telangiectasia Bare Lymphocyte Syndrome Common Variable Immunodeficiency DiGeorge Syndrome Kostmann Syndrome Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Omenn's Syndrome Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) SCID with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Disorder Histiocytic Disorders: Familial Erythrophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Hemophagocytosis Histiocytosis-X Langerhans' Cell Histiocytosis Inherited Erythrocyte Abnormalities: Beta Thalassemia Major Blackfan-Diamond Anemia Pure Red Cell Aplasia Sickle Cell Disease Inherited Platelet Abnormalities: Amegakaryocytosis / Congenital Thrombocytopenia Liposomal Storage Diseases: Adrenoleukodystrophy Gaucher's Disease Hunter's Syndrome (MPS-II) Hurler's Syndrome (MPS-IH) Krabbe Disease Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS-VI) Metachromatic Leukodystrophy Morquio Syndrome (MPS-IV) Mucolipidosis II (I-cell Disease) Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) Niemann-Pick Disease Sanfilippo Syndrome (MPS-III) Scheie Syndrome (MPS-IS) Sly Syndrome, Beta-Glucuronidase Deficiency (MPS-VII) Wolman Disease Lymphoproliferative Disorders: Hodgkin's Disease Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Prolymphocytic Leukemia Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Amyloidosis Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML) Refractory Anemia (RA) Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts (RAEB) Refractory Anemia with Excess Blasts in Transformation (RAEB-T) Refractory Anemia with Ringed Sideroblasts (RARS) Myeloproliferative Disorders: Acute Myelofibrosis Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia (Myelofibrosis) Essential Thrombocythemia Polycythemia Vera Other Inherited Disorders: Cartilage-Hair Hypoplasia Ceroid Lipofuscinosis Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria Glanzmann Thrombasthenia Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome Osteopetrosis Tay Sachs Disease Other Malignancies: Brain Tumors Breast Cancer Ewing Sarcoma Neuroblastoma Ovarian Cancer Renal Cell Carcinoma Small-Cell Lung Cancer Testicular Cancer Phagocyte Disorders: Chediak-Higashi Syndrome Chronic Granulomatous Disease Neutrophil Actin Deficiency Reticular Dysgenesis Plasma Cell Disorders: Multiple Myeloma Plasma Cell Leukemia Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Stem Cell Disorders: Aplastic Anemia (Severe) Congenital Cytopenia Dyskeratosis Congenita Fanconi Anemia Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) Potential Future Stem Cell Applications: Alzheimer's Disease Diabetes Heart Disease Liver Disease Muscular Dystrophy Parkinson's Disease Spinal Cord Injury Stroke
6. The chances of your baby needing cord blood is very slim. If your baby does need it, chances are his/her cord blood won't be used because whatever the baby needs it for (leukemia for example) could be in the cord blood. What I did with my 2 kids cord blood was donate it. Chances are much better that someone else could benefit from it than my own child. I also donated my son's placenta for prostate cancer research. (The hospital I gave birth at is connected to the University and they were asking for placentas of male newborns). They don't tell you what the cord blood was used for, and it's not like donating organs where they will let you know after a period of time how they were used, but when I called recently to see if it was collected, the nurse who handles that said yes, the cord blood of both of my kids was used right away, and the research also went well, they found "what they were looking for". If you can't afford to bank it, and don't want to waste it, ask the hospital if they will collect it for a donation. It's free to donate, and in my opinion better than what they otherwise do with it - throw it away as medical waste - and it could save a life. If you do bank it, you can use it for your baby, yourself, or anyone you choose to give it to, but it's not used for blood transfusions. There isn't enough blood in the cord to be useful for a transfusion.