Is Cord Blood Banking Worth It Or Not?

2012-01-11T10:27:00.001-08:00

New parents have a lot of concerns, some of which can be daunting. A recent medical trend, cord blood banking, has raised new questions for expecting parents - when my child is born, is cord blood banking worth it or not?

First of all, what is cord blood banking? Quite simply, it is the process of harvesting your child's umbilical cord blood to use later - should the need arise - to help doctor's prevent and treat disease in your child should he or she ever become ill.

Umbilical cord blood is blood which remains in the placenta, as well as in the umbilical cord after childbirth. It is rich in stem cells and can be used to treat hematopoietic (blood diseases, bone marrow cancers) and genetic disorders. While the medical research community is still assessing the efficacy of cord blood stem cell treatment, there are some indications that approximately 1 in 3 patients could benefit from future advances in cord blood stem cell transplant procedures. This includes the treatment of brain injury, type 1 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular repair, stroke prevention and hearing loss.

Stem Cell Differentiation Examples

Still, much has been written about the benefits and disadvantages of cord blood banking which has caused many expecting parents to ask, is cord blood banking worth it or not? First of all, let's look at the numbers. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that there is a very slim chance that any child will ever need to use their harvested cord blood. There is approximately a 1:1000 to 1:200,000 chance that any child will ever undergo a procedure or indeed, even become ill with a condition that would warrant it.

Secondly, the expenses associated with cord blood banking are quite high. Private cord blood banking will almost certainly be subject to both processing and banking fees, as well as an annual storage fee. After the initial administrative costs, as well as the annual amount which cord blood banks will request, there is are costs associated with the procedure itself, which may or may not be covered under your current medical insurance coverage. It is quite common for new parents to pay upwards of $1800 for the first year (including the procedure and storage) and then yearly storage fees of $100.

Cord blood banking is essentially an insurance policy against possible future illness, but if you as a parent simply cannot afford it, there are always other options should your child become sick. It should be noted, that the research as of today, does not support the concept that cord blood banking will be more successful in helping save your child's life than other methods, which are much less expensive.

While private blood cord banks will tell you that cord blood can potentially save your child's life, there are still other options for parents who choose to forgo the cord blood harvesting procedure. For example, public cord blood banks can find matches for your child's blood type - much like if they needed a blood transfusion. Furthermore, bone marrow transplants for your child would be available under the same parameters. More importantly, consideration must be given to the fact that cord blood and its associated stem cells can only aid your child into young adult hood, as an adults transplant needs can not be satisfied with limited number of stem cells available in the blood itself.

Cord Blood: What is It?>>>

What is Regenerative Medicine

2012-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Regenerative Medicine is the medical process of "replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues or organs in order to restore or establish normal function". An emerging field in medical technology, regenerative medicine empowers scientists to grow tissues and organs in a laboratory setting, and then safely implant them into a patient when that patient's body can no longer heal itself.

Regenerative medicine refers to a group of biomedical approaches to clinical therapies that may involve the use of stem cells. Examples include the injection of stem cells, the induction of regeneration by biologically active molecules administered alone or as a secretion by infused cells (immunomodulations therapy) and transplantation of in vitro grown organs and tissues (tissue engineering).

What Are Stem Cells

2012-01-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

Stem Cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms. They can divide (mitosis) and differentiate into diverse and specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. There are two types of stem cells, embryonic stem cells (found in the inner cell mass of a blatocyst, or early stage embryos) and adult stem cells, which are found in the tissues of adult humans. There is also a third category of stem cells, Amniotic which are multipotent stem cells found in the afterbirth or placenta during child birth. In short, stem cells act as a repair system for the human body, replenishing adult tissues.

There are three sources of adult stem cells:

- Bone Marrow (which requires harvesting by drilling directly into the bone mass)

-Adipose Tissue (lipid cells, which require extraction by liposuction)

-Blood (which requires extraction by pheresis, or drawing blood)

Embryonic stem cells are cultures of cells derived from the epiblast tissue of the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, or early stage embryos. Due to the nature of Embryonic stem cells, they provide the most promise in regenerative medical research as then can develop in to more than 200 cell types of the adult body when properly used. However, there are a variety of moral and legal questions surrounding the use of Embryonic stem cells, specifically the quasi religous argument that human life begins at conception. As such, there are currently no approved treatments using embryonic stem cells at this time.

Amniotic Stem Cells are retrieved from the the remaining amniotic fluid found in afterbirth and a childs umbilical cord. These stem cells are very active and expand extensively with little intervention. Amniotic stem cells are considered multipotent, meaning they can be used in a variety of medical procedures to great effect. Use of stem cells from amniotic fluid bypasses ethical objections to using human embryos as the source of stem cells.

What is Hematopoietic Treatment

2012-01-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hematopoietic Cells originate from bone marrow and play a contributing roll in the development and the cellular components of blood, which include erythocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells), and platelets (megakaryocyte-derived bodies). White blood cells are also present in the composition of lymph nodes, the spleen, the thymus and mucosa lymphoid tissues as well as having some degree of presence in all tissues of the body as well.

Disease which attack the hematopoietic system are either classified as anemia (decreases) or lymphoma/leukemia (increases) in these cell types. Some of these diseases include bone marrow failure syndromes and primary immune deficiency syndromes, nutritional deficiencies and infections processes or neoplastic disorders (cancer).

FDA Regulations on Cord Blood Banking

2012-01-09T10:04:00.001-08:00

The Food and Drug Administration has outlined regulations governing the collection and storage of cord blood, as well as the use of stem cells from within cord blood under Title 21 Part 1271 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Otherwise known as the Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products (HCT/Ps) section, the legislation governs the use of biologics intended for therapeutic purposes in humans.

These regulations define HCT/Ps as "articles containing or consisting of human cells or tissues that are intended for implantation, transplantation, infusion, or transfer into a human recipient." Amongst other items, the regulations also include some provisions governing registration and listing requirements for establishments that manufacture and process HCT/Ps. These provisions discuss donor eligibility and recommend current good tissue practises. These stages include harvesting, processing, manufacture, storage, labeling, packaging, and distribution and are intended as methods to prevent the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable diseases in humans.

If you are seriously considering processing and storing your child's cord blood, then please take the time to make sure you have read the regulations and understand them.