How Can One Decision of Cord Blood Donation Save One’s Life?

We all are aware of the growing popularity of cord blood donation and its importance. It is said to be one of the best alternatives for bone marrow transplant as it has a greater matching potential for the siblings and the parents of the child. Cord blood donation is also said to be useful for other patients who require transplantation.

It is found that it helps treat various health problems like cancer, blood disorders, immune system disorders, Alzheimer, Parkinson’s disease, heart attacks, diabetes and many more. It has the potential to regenerate the immune system and provides a replacement for any damaged or diseased cells. If you are looking to do a cord blood donation or preserving it, then you can contact Cord Blood for Life. They will explain the entire process or you can check their website for more details.

What is the process?

This process begins with the blood being collected from the placenta after childbirth. This will take around 10 to 15 minutes. The blood is collected with a syringe from the umbilical cord and then stored in special packets. They are stored in the lab for the first 48 hours and then transported to the blood bank. 

This process has zero risk involved for both baby and the mother. But if there are any complications during the delivery then this entire process will be abandoned. Every cord blood is worthy of being stored, but there are chances of them getting failed during the screening process. The reason can be many. Therefore, you must understand the worthiness of this cord blood donation and make use of it to help others. 

What are the eligibility criteria?

There are many different eligibility criteria if you want to choose a public bank. For a public bank, the donor will have to fill out the consent form and questionnaire related to health. Then you may have to undergo some screening tests to check for infections. A public bank may reject the stem cells from twins because it is seen that stem cells from multiple pregnancies can be insufficient for transplantation. 

So, here are some conditions from which the cord blood donation may be exempted:

• There are chances for the donor to get HIV/ AIDS

• If the donor has made a tattoo for about 12 months from now

• If the donor had a history of sexually transmitted diseases 

• If the donor has his/her body part pierced.

• Donors having other health problems like cancer, diabetes, hepatitis or a genetic history of hepatitis, and those who are already being treated by transplantation. Such donors cannot be accepted by the blood banks as they do not meet the criteria. 

Cord blood banking is a procedure that will preserve the cord blood stem cells and help patients with 70 different diseases. Though the cost for this blood donation may cost more in private banks then you can opt for public banks instead. In any of the cases, it will always be beneficial for the betterment of your family and all other individuals who are in need. 

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