As a parent there are so many things that are on your mind, all the time. The happiness of your children, the health of your children, the security of your children – the list goes on. An unspoken vow is made the moment your child is born into the world, a promise that you will do whatever it takes to both protect your baby and provide a healthy, happy life.
You try to do everything you can to protect your children, but there are things in this world that are outside of your control. One thing you as a parent have no control over is what goes on inside your child’s body. Doctors offer advice and medical recommendations to keep external threats from affecting the health of your baby, but not everything can be prevented from the outside.
However, medical advancements are providing new options to potentially treat previously untreatable conditions. Many doctors now recommend to expecting mothers the benefits of banking their newborn baby’s cord blood to provide medical options in the future.
Cord blood is a special type of blood left over within the umbilical cord following the birth of a baby. Cord blood was once considered afterbirth thrown away after a birth, but medical research discovered that cord blood is a very rich source of stem cells. These special cord blood stem cells over time can develop into other types of cells, such as red blood
cells to carry oxygen through the body, or disease fighting immune cells to potentially treat a whole stockpile of illnesses.
Some of the conditions that have improved following cord blood stem cell transplants include leukemia, cerebral palsy, heart disease along with dozens of other conditions. Cord blood is in many ways superior to bone marrow because doctors don’t have to search for adequate donors. Cord blood can be infused within a child’s body at any point in his or her life, and due to genetics other family members are also likely to benefit from banked cord blood.
Advancements in medical research give hope to families vowing to protect their children from diseases. Cord blood potentially increases hope where there never was hope before.