Pregnancy Ultrasound Article
Pros and Cons of Banking Cord Blood
Many parents choose to bank cord blood from their newborn child to try to protect their future health. This practice is becoming more and more popular, especially in recent years, as the baby’s umbilical cord blood contains stem cells, which have been a recent focus of the news media. Stem cells are cells that lack any predestination, meaning they can be used for anything. A stem cell can become a nerve cell, blood cell, bone cell, or anything in between. Instead of discarded cord blood in the delivery room, as was practiced in the past, many parents now make the investment to bank cord blood for the future. As an alternative to storing your child’s cord blood, many parents also choose to donate the cord blood to a cord blood registry or for research purposes in an effort to cure diseases and better understand the workings of the human body.
When making the decision to bank cord blood, consider weighing the following pros and cons provided by the informative Web site Should You Bank Cord Blood in order to make a clear, well-informed choice:
Pros:
Donation Solutions: In the event of your child—or any other children you may currently have or will have in the future—needs a transplant, the cord blood will be well within your reach. This is especially important for children of some races, as finding a proper match can be more difficult and depend greatly upon location. Furthermore, matches for critical aspects like bone marrow are a great deal more difficult without having cord blood on hand.
Treatment Possibilities: Hopefully, this will not be of concern for any of your children, but banking cord blood can widen the treatment possibilities when dealing with many diseases. To date, cord blood is used to treat over 45 diseases and disorders, including leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and metabolic disorders. This is especially critical if you have any family history of such diseases or disorder, since many of these medical issues are genetic and can potentially be passed to the next generation.
Compatibility: Since the banked cord blood comes directly from the infant and is comprised of very early stem cells, the risk of incompatibility diminishes. In many instances, cord blood donations from family members can be denied by the body, creating a condition known as graft vs. host disease. Fortunately, with your own banked cord blood, this is generally not a problem.
Cons:
Price: By far, the most constrictive aspect of banking your child’s cord blood is the price. However, many companies offer free storage or storage at a reduced rate for cases deemed “at need.” This is usually cases regarding children that are known to be suffering from some type of disease or disorder before birth, or who have a significant chance of developing an issue due to family history. Before you balk at banking your child’s cord blood, consider the insurance factor for the future. Just like a traditional insurance plan, banking cord blood serves as a backup in case the worst happens.
Need: Fortunately, the need for cord blood is not great and your child—or other children—will hopefully never need a transplant with this lifesaving blood. Generally speaking, approximately one in 20,000 families that bank cord blood actually use the blood at some date. However, just like any other insurance policy, the cord blood is there if it is needed.
Size: With today’s technology, the cord blood cells can only be used for an individual under about 115 pounds. This includes most children and some smaller adults; however, the success rate with larger adults over this 115 pound mark is minimal. Keep in mind, technology is still advancing, so there is a chance that these problems will be solved in case the cord blood is needed in the future.
About the Author:
Larry Mitchell is a San Francisco based author.
Pregnancy Ultrasound News
pregnancy ultrasound
COOKEVILLE -- As you start into the new year, take out some time for yourself to relax with friends and to be renewed with the truth of God's Word and some praise and worship time -- join the Upper Cumberland Women's Conference on Jan. 10 at Avery ...
Read moreJan. 10 women's conference a chance to renew, start the new year right - Herald-Citizen
COLUMBIA — For Kelsey Hammond of Columbia, finding out that she was pregnant didn’t spin her into a frenzy of shopping and decorating. “I was very blasé about it,” Hammond, a photographer and Craft Studio Coordinator at MU, said about her ...
Read moreColumbia photographer had first baby in 2008 - Columbia Missourian
After nine months of pregnancy, Kimberly Powers and her boyfriend, Michael Dobervich, rushed to the hospital when her water broke. But something was terribly wrong. "When they put the ultrasound up, they couldn't find the heartbeat for like 10 ...
Read moreLasting reminders of a too-short life - Chicago Tribune
SARANAC LAKE — The first baby of the New Year made a welcome debut at Adirondack Medical Center at 2:47 a.m. Thursday. Samuel Ian Duprey was the first baby born in the North Country, weighing in at a sturdy 8 pounds, 1 ounce. He is the first child ...
Read moreNew Year's babies in Saranac Lake Malone, Plattsburgh - Press Republican
A cast of Belle in the womb at 7 months: A 3D printer uses ultrasound images to build the mould with special dust and glue, which is then set in bronze A clinic is offering mothers bronze models of their unborn babies. The London Ultrasound Centre ...
Read moreYour unborn baby cast in bronze ... it's the new foetal attraction - Daily Mail
WOODBRIDGE — Taly Noam and Ben Herzog were crushed when, at 36 weeks pregnant, Noam went for a routine ultrasound and their baby had no heartbeat. The young couple, both doctoral students from Israel, found that well-meaning people didn’t know ...
Read moreLoss group proves priceless - New Haven Register
At 11:33 p.m. Jan. 1, Austin’s first baby of 2009 was born. Griffin William Haugen weighed in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces and measured 19 inches. “He’s been a perfect baby,” said mother Candice Przybylski, 27, while holding Griffin in her arms at ...
Read moreAustin, meet Griffin - Austin Daily Herald
Abortion foes in the Legislature have sown the seeds of what could develop into another battle over regulating abortion in South Carolina. Seven S.C. House lawmakers have prefiled a bill that would require women seeking abortions to be given a list ...
Read moreProposed S.C. bill sets stage for abortion fight - The State
Rajo Devi, 70, had a baby girl, Naveen Lohan, weighing 3lb 4oz, by caesarean section on Nov 28. "Now," she said, "I want a boy." Rajo and her husband Bala Ram, 72, who live on a farm in the tiny village of Badhu Patti in Haryana, India, are hoping ...
Read moreWorld's oldest mother wants to have another child - Daily Telegraph
This application will follow the Centralized Procedure. Corifollitropin alfa is being developed as a potential treatment in Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COS) for the development of multiple follicles and pregnancy in women participating in an ...
Read morePregnancy Ultrasound Links
Warning: file(http://www.gigablast.com/search?q=pregnancy+ultrasound&sc=0&dr=1&raw=5&n=10) [function.file]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.0 402 (Contact Gigablast sales to buy a search feed) in /home/momtobe/public_html/rssg/serp.php on line 27
Warning: implode() [function.implode]: Invalid arguments passed in /home/momtobe/public_html/rssg/serp.php on line 27
No links at present please check back later.