by Brian Jenkins

Parents who are expecting a baby have a number of decisions to make before the birth of the baby. Parents have to settle on everything from the baby’s name to whether they’re planning to breast-feed or bottlefed to their choice and a pediatrician. There’s a bundle of things to decide as the birth date approaches. One of the things that a great deal of parents don’t know that it’s out there, is the capability for cord blood banking. Yes you heard me right, umbilical cord blood.

Why is a person’s own cord storage significant? The thinking behind this is because there is only one possibility in a person’s life to collect their own cord tissue and and that, of course, is following the birth of the individual. In most hospital birthing procedures, the umbilical cord is commonly discarded anyway, but the umbilical cord is chuck full of a person’s blood stem cells.

Looking at the controversy, the criticism has not been over the matter of medically storing the cord blood itself, but the problems arise from the corporate organizations marketing this as a vital service to have when at present time there are public cord blood banks available. The storing of blood as a yearly cost from these moneymaking corporations and the bill can be fairly high and the upfront storage expenses ranging from $600-$1800 and somewhere around a yearly $100 recurring fee.

Countless parents want to know that it is a baby’s own blood instead of relying on publicly donated umbilical cord blood if the need arises later. Cord blood is a viable medical option for some health problems that can arise in the course of the child’s life. It is true that the stem cells in the cords are used to treat a number of pediatric health problems like sickle cell anemia, leukemia (although in genetic cases an individual’s own cord blood can’t be utilized), along with other uncommon metabolic health problems. It is also utilized for bone marrow replacement treatments. At present if you did not store the cord from an individual, one can be used from a close relative or even an unrelated individual that is a match. You can even elect to bestow your child’s cord blood to a public blood bank.

Most parents think of it as like insurance just in case something happens and will pay a yearly fee that the big money corporations charge to store the cord blood. Don’t fret if you can’t pay store your child’s cord blood, there are programs around the country that can help you. One such cord blood donor program is the Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program in Oakland, California.

One of the major problems with profit generating organizations pushing individual storage of of cord blood is the fact that there isn’t any proven indications that it is necessary in most children. Even if you don’t store your own child’s cord blood, it will not limit you in the future to treatments that employ cord blood stem cells. There is a lot of cord blood bank at all times nationally that is dominated by the other families. So the chances are not being cord blood available is unlikely.

In the end, the choice of whether or not to use a private cord blood banking storage option is up to you, the parent. You might go ahead and pay for private cord blood storage and it may not even be necessary, but then again it might be. You as the parent have to make the call, but consider the fact you money may be spent unnecessarily.

About the Author:
Read about Cord Blood Bank Baby at the site to learn more about Baby Girls This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

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