Cord Blood Donation - Donate Cord Blood Cells For the Well-Being Of Your Family


by Apurva - Date: 2007-07-05 - Word Count: 454 Share This!

Cord blood donation is fast rising in the popularity charts all around the world. Cord blood stem cells are considered as an alternative to bone marrow transplants, as these stem cells have the greater matching potential with the siblings and the parents of the babies. Cord blood stem cells have shown significant influence on the transplanted patients suffering from some severe cancers, blood disorders, immune system disorders, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer, Parkinson's disease, heart attacks, and even diabetes.

The Process

Cord blood is extracted from the placenta after childbirth. The entire process takes around 10 to 15 minutes. If there is any complication during delivery, the entire idea is abandoned. After the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, the blood is collected from the cord and stored in special packets or syringes for transportation to the cord blood bank. The process of collection entails zero risks and pain for both the baby and the mother. However, all samples are not considered of medical potential and worthy of being stored. Several samples get rejected due to the failure to meet certain criteria during the screening process. Therefore, understanding the worthiness of cord blood samples is first and foremost required.

Are You Eligible?

The cord blood banks have their own procedures for determining the eligibility of donor's samples. If you pick a public bank for cord blood donation, you will be required to fill up a consent form and some questionnaire related to health. Thereafter, you may undergo a small blood screening test for the purpose of detecting infection. However, public banks reject stem cells taken from twins, as stem cells extracted from multiple pregnancies are insufficient to be used in a transplant. If you have given birth to twins, opt for private banks for cord blood banking, since these banks use technologies to expand stem cells.

There are some other conditions that may as well exempt you from cord blood donation, which are -

The donor bears a risk of HIV/AIDS
The donor is adorned with a tattoo for the last twelve months.
Banks also assess if the donor has a history of sexually transmitted diseases or infections.
Cord blood donation from donors with their ear, skin and other body parts pierced may also likely to get rejected.
Donors suffering from cancers, medication dependent diabetes, hepatitis or having a genetic history of hepatitis and those who are being treated by transplant treatments do not match criteria of eligibility to donate cells set by cord blood banks.

Either way, as parents it makes sense to opt for cord blood donation for the benefit of your family. If you are not eligible for any reason, do not shy away from suggesting cord blood collection to your friends and relatives.

Related Tags: cord blood banking, cord blood donation, cord blood stem cells, cord blood bank

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