Cord Blood News

Blog

St louis cord blood bank

July 30, 2008 on 4:30 pm | In Umbilical Cord Blood | No Comments

There are many informative Web sites that will help you understand whether you Should Bank Cord Blood, cord blood is the blood that is found within the umbilical cord at birth.
There are a number of things you should consider before making the all-important final decision; these factors include accreditation, experience, knowledge and financial security. Although today adults over about 115 pounds can be treated successfully with cord blood, who knows what breakthroughs may take place tomorrow? The proponents of cord blood banking state that this particular type of blood is needed to cure future diseases that the child or their close relatives may developed in the future. After you have selected a few banks that you are interested in, you will need to do some checking into their financial situation. The most widely known use of such cells is in bone marrow transplants, where patients suffering from cancer receive the bone marrow from a living donor, replacing the unhealthy blood cells of the patient for the life-saving ones of the voluntary donor. Potentially, if they can be removed from the donor and transfused into the patient then in the future, stem cells could be used to cure virtually any illness. The reason is simple; the companies that store the cord blood tout the advantages to saving this once in a lifetime supply of stem cells. These stem cells have yet to have their use determined, meaning they can become any cell needed in the body, from blood cells to bone cells. Additionally, you can serve as a cord blood donor to your sick sibling using cord blood that is far more effective than anything else you can give to a brother or sister. Parents today are choosing to either bank cord blood for future use or donate their newborn’s cord blood so that ill children can take advantage of this life-saving blood. If you are not interested in saving and, therefore paying for the cord blood banking, you may consider its donation. Stem Cells, Cord Blood, Cord Blood Banking, Umbilical Cord Blood

This interdisciplinary collection of essays deals with the moral issues associated with stem cell research. Buy Now!

Technorati Tags: Stem Cells, Cord Blood, Cord Blood Banking, Umbilical Cord Blood

Cord blood stem cells and brain disease

July 30, 2008 on 5:45 am | In Umbilical Cord Blood | No Comments

The umbilical cord stem cell matrix is called Wharton’s jelly and is rich in primitive stem cells.
Generally, at a very early age children diagnosed with lymphoproliferative disease develop mononucleosis, a potentially fatal disease that individuals with a working immune system commonly recover from. The reason why stem cells from cord blood work so well in transplants is because they take on the responsibility of the non-working cells they attempt to replace. There are an increasing number of cord blood banks that handle cord blood storage. These banks will collect the cord blood and will test it for various criteria including stem cell count before placing it in preservation containers. While parents can choose to store the cord blood privately for their baby’s later use, this can be expensive, and raises the question of whether the blood should wait for someone who might never use it or be given immediately to a patient in need. They are less likely to be rejected than bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. Keep in mind that the need to bank cord blood may not be for everyone. If your child is a match for a bone marrow transfer, this cord blood could indeed save someone’s life. Cord Blood, Cord Blood Banking, Umbilical Cord Blood

First encyclopedic reference on stem cells. Covers stem cell biology and how to obtain stem cells from different organs, to culture these cells in vitro and to manipulate stem cells for therapeutic use in experimental models and human disease. Buy Now!