Do you know the importance of cord blood? Cord blood is the blood that comes from the umbilical cord of a baby during delivery. The cord is the life source of the fetus and the living connection between mother and baby. It has blood vessels that carry oxygen and valuable blood to the baby. Also, it takes blood with waste away from the baby. Within cord blood are stem cells.
These stem cells develop all tissues, organs, and systems in the body. They also promote new growth and development. Stem cells are the most important building blocks of the immune system. With stem cells, doctors can treat inherited health disorders, leukemia, and so much more.
Are you aware that you can donate your baby’s cord blood instead of throwing it away? It could be used to save lives and this will be very good on your part. This is a great way of saving patients with cancer ad genetic disorders.
Cord Blood Donation Near Me – Find it on the Map
To donate your baby’s cord blood, find cord blood donation sites near you. Then to find a cord blood donation center near you, search the map below. You will find a list of cord blood donation centers. Go ahead to review facts and details about the location. Carefully review every detail about this decision before you donate your child’s cord blood.
How far ahead of your due date should you contact a cord bank about donating?
You can contact a cord blood storage or donation center a few days before your due date. But, experts strongly recommend that you contact a cord blood bank when you reach 28 weeks. It permits the bank to have some time to figure out costs, logistics, and planning.
Does it cost anything to donate cord blood?
No, not at all. It does not cost anything to donate to a public cord bank. It is only people saving their blood in private blood banks that pay some money. A public cord bank covers all costs of collecting, processing, and storing the cord blood long term. However, people saving cord blood for private use go to private cord bank stores.
Are labor and delivery affected by cord blood donation?
The fact is that your labor and delivery will not affect cord blood donation. Also, the method of delivery does not affect the donation process. It is only after your safe delivery that the blood is collected from the cord and placenta. The whole process is easy and painless.
Is cord blood collection is very painful?
Not at all, rather the cord blood collection process is safe, simple, and painless. Within 5 minutes, the whole process is completed. Even the delivery method a woman uses has nothing to do with collecting this blood. Whether you give birth naturally or through a c-section, doctors can easily collect the blood after your delivery. Doctors can collect it in two ways: the syringe method or the bag method. With the syringe method, they will use a needle to draw blood from the umbilical cord shortly after it has been cut. But with the bag method, the umbilical cord is lifted to drain the blood into a bag.
How is cord blood stored?
Cord blood are stored in private and public banks. Public cord blood banks process and store umbilical cord blood for public use. Sometimes too, it is used for research by the medical community. When you donate your child’s cord blood to a public bank, you cannot use it; it will be used for research. You are only helping others here.
A private bank on the other hand stores the blood for you your family’s need. In this case, anyone who is a genetic match can use the blood to solve stem cell issues. In this way, the parents or children have an assurance of where the blood they are using is coming from. However, storing blood in a private blood bank is very expensive. Low-income earners cannot pay this price. If you can afford to pay the fees, go for a private cord blood bank. But if you cannot, donate it to the public blood bank.
For those going to a private blood bank, the fees highly depend on how long you will store the blood. The initial deposit is from $900 to $2100.after that, you will be paying storage fees yearly. The fee is from $100 to $1000, depending on the bank you choose.
Donating For Public Use
Once the blood is donated, it will always be stored and ready for transplant. However, the cord blood has to meet a certain standards. To start with, the cord blood must have enough blood-forming cells for a transplant. When it has a few cells, it cannot be listed on a registry. They will only use it for researches related to cord blood transplants.
Lastly, both mother and child’s blood must be free from any type of infection or medical concerns.
