Cord Blood Banking Cost: Pros And Cons Any parent who is expecting to have a child in the near future should decide what they will do about the child’s umbilical cord. While the answer seems simple to many — just have the doctor cut it off — there is a much larger issue at hand: cord blood banking. On this site we evaluate some of the benefits of cord blood banking, some of the potential negatives, and of course cord blood banking cost. Those who wonder what cord blood banking is should know that the blood cells within a child’s umbilical cord have a vast number of stem cells. Stem cells are they type of cells that are able to become nearly any other organ cell. As such, it can be used as treatment in the event that your child, or a child with similar blood type, becomes sick. This may seem like an excellent way to prevent harm to your infant, but it can carry repercussions as well, meaning that there are cord blood banking pros and cons for the decision. An Intro To Stem Cells Many people have likely heard of the controversy surrounding stem cells, but not everyone understands exactly what these little cells really do. The controversy behind many stem cells is that they are harvested from pre- or post-natal infants. Stem cells need only be attached to strings of other organ cells in order to replicate the creation of that organ. For example, by using stem cells it is possible to create new liver cells for a liver that has had serious damage. They can transform into blood cells of different types furthermore, so that blood can be stored in the event that a hospital does not have enough of a rare variant. From Cord To Private Bank Private cord blood banking begins as soon as the infant has been delivered. At that point, the parents have a decision to be made: do they want to pay a premium to keep their child’s cord blood in the hospital care? Cord blood is kept in deep freeze storage so that the cells can be pulled out when needed and applied to a patient. This patient is usually the child as they age, but it can also be a sibling or the parent themselves. As such, it is possible for a single umbilical cord to save or prolong several lives. This must be done in a private storage, however, since it is not possible to maintain any type of storage without high-grade equipment. Public Banking In the event that you are not interested in maintaining a private storage of cord blood cells for your child or your family, it is possible to donate the cord blood cells to a public cord blood bank. In the same way that organ donation allows for life for countless individuals, so too do donations of cord blood permit the treatment of diseases that may otherwise render a person unable to get treatment. Public cord blood banking is at no cost to an individual, but does not ensure they will have access to their own stem cells in the event of a malady. Cord Blood Banking Pros The simple question that most blood donation boils to is whether or not the benefits justify the positives. The most obvious benefit is that cord blood banking is a type of insurance: should a child have a blood-born disease like leukemia or sickle cell anemia, an injection of cord blood cells will help to provide new, healthy blood and alleviate the disease. In the event that a child has a truly catastrophic malady like cancer, these cells can aid recovery from chemotherapy. Some twenty thousand lives have been saved from cord blood, estimates the American Institute of Medicine, making the banking process a way to ensure a child with health issues leads a productive and happy life. Cord Blood Banking Cons The largest downside to the entire banking process is the duration of their life. Cord blood cells are not recommended for use after ten years, meaning that a child who does not develop a health concern within the first decade of their life may only have limited use in the future. The chances of a child needing these cells is small, perhaps one in three thousand. A secondary concern is the cost involved to keep the cells on ice. An average cord blood banking cost per year can run up to one hundred dollars after charging as much as two thousand dollars for the initial harvest. This may not represent a large investment to some parents, but to others that are unable to commit the financial backing, it may prove too much of an investment.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 22:50:04 +0000
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