Banking your baby’s cord blood might just save her life when she’s older. Find out the benefits of the procedure and how it can help treat certain life-threatening diseases.
Banking your baby’s cord blood might just save her life when she’s older. Find out the benefits of the procedure and how it can help treat certain life-threatening diseases.
Your baby’s birth is one of the most joyful moments of your life. It is also the only opportunity you have to bank your little one’s cord blood, a procedure that can help save her life or the life of a family member in the future. Typically, when a child or an adult suffers from certain metabolic disorders or various diseases of the blood or the immune system, adult bone marrow may be used as treatment. Cord blood offers an alternative to bone marrow in treating these diseases.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORD BLOOD.
Right after your baby is born, the umbilical cord that connects her to the placenta is clamped and cut. The extra blood from the placental side of the umbilical cord is then collected via a safe, simple and painless procedure. This blood is known as cord blood.
Cord blood is unique in that it is rich in haematopoietic stem cells, which are capable of renewing and regenerating into various types of blood cells and help form a new immune system. Stem cells are found in almost every organ of the body, including the bone marrow. The stem cells found in cord blood are similar to those found in adult bone marrow, except they have a much higher potential for repair and regeneration. Also, they are less likely to be recognised as a toxin and trigger an immune response in the body. As such, there are less chances of graft-versushost disease, where the donor’s immune cells attack the patient’s. Furthermore, transplants using cord blood do not require an exact genetic match like bone marrow transplants.
A LIFELINE FOR LIFETHREATENING DISEASES.
Cord blood is now increasingly considered an alternative to bone marrow, and a reliable source of stem cells for treating various blood- and immune system-related diseases. Cord blood transplants are also performed for patients with metabolic and selected genetic disorders.
By banking your baby’s cord blood soon after she is born and before the development of any disease, you will have peace of mind, knowing that it will be readily available if and when the need arises. The stem cells, which are cryopreserved and stored in family banks, can then be used in the future – for your baby, her sibling or any other family member, as the chances of a match are much higher as opposed to using unrelated donors.
Cord blood stem cells can be used for some of the more common treatable diseases, including acute and chronic myelogenous leukaemia (paediatric and adult onset), acute and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, sickle-cell disease, multiple myeloma, and severe aplastic anaemia. Research in the field of cord blood and stem cell banking has also revealed the potential possibilities of cord blood stem cells to treat brain injuries and juvenile diabetes.
Cryoviva Singapore specialises in family cord blood banking services. And you’ll have a peace of mind with Cryoviva Singapore, as it processes and stores your baby’s cord blood sample in a highly accredited lab facility within the premises of a hospital. Its high quality standards ensure that the purity of your sample will be preserved to maximise cell recovery. For more information, visit www.cryoviva.com.sg.
WHO IS SUITABLE FOR CORD BLOOD BANKING?
Cord blood banking is suitable for all healthy babies as an assurance against life-threatening diseases that can be treated using cord blood. If your family has a history of certain life-threatening diseases, it is highly recommended that you bank your baby’s cord blood as a preventive measure. Please consult your family doctor for more details.
