Currently, it is no longer a problem to have umbilical cord blood stored. Many private blood banks already offer this, provided that the private individuals have sufficient financial means, because the storage has to be paid out of their own pocket.
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The Stem Cell From The Umbilical Cord Blood
In recent years, research on and with umbilical cord blood has led to some major findings. It has been found that stem cells from umbilical cord blood are better tolerated than stem cells obtained from the bone market. The umbilical cord blood stem cells have the very big advantage that they are still young and unused. They are not yet fully grown nor are they in an embryonic stage. Researchers have found out that for this very reason they are not rejected as often as cells from bone marrow. This is a very important finding, especially with regard to leukemia. It is therefore a matter of preventive health care.
The Storage Of Umbilical Cord Blood
However, stem cell donation from umbilical cord blood is only possible if sufficient blood is stored and donated. Before storing the umbilical cord blood, the parents can of course decide whether they want to use the blood only for their own child or whether it should be used primarily for their own child with the option of self-determined donation from others. The blood from the umbilical cord can also be frozen in a public bank. Here, however, it is available exclusively for the third-party donation.
A Costly Affair
Those who donate the umbilical cord blood and make it available to the third-party donor do not have to bear any costs. However, if you only want to store it for your own purposes, you will have to dig a little deeper into your pocket.
