Keeping cord blood - a guide for my parents

Keeping cord blood - a guide for my parents

Keeping cord blood - a guide for my parents

After the baby is born and separated from the umbilical cord, blood remains in the blood vessels of the placenta and in the umbilical cord section that remains attached to it. This blood is called cord blood, or, in short, cord blood.



Cord blood is rich in hematopoietic stem cells, which can be implanted in patients with blood diseases and immune system diseases.



The decision to donate your baby's umbilical cord blood to the public cord blood bank or to keep it in your umbilical cord blood bank, if any, is personal and free.



What is cord blood?


Cord blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma. In addition, umbilical cord blood is rich in blood stem cells (Hematopoietic stem cells) and is similar to bone marrow. There is the ability of hematopoietic stem cells to evolve to many different types of blood cells. During life they divide and renew the different blood cell category according to need.

These cells form the source of three categories of blood cells:
Red blood cells that carry oxygen to the entire body.
White blood cells form part of the immune system and participate in the protection of the body from infectious diseases and strange factors (bacteria, viruses, parasites, strange particles and tumors).
Participation of platelets in the physiological process to stop hemorrhage (blood clotting).

Why cord blood is used


Each year, thousands of people suffering from blood diseases and immune system diseases (such as multiple myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma, nephropathy, thalassemia, immunodeficiency, etc.) can be treated by hematopoiet stem cell transplantation. These stem cells are often obtained from bone marrow donation, while in other cases it is not possible to find an appropriate donor - from cord blood. The cells are implanted intravenously and enter into the bone marrow, and there are divided and classified into healthy and healthy mature blood cells. Cultivation of cord blood stem cells has been in use since 1988.

The success rate of cord blood transplantation in children for the rehabilitation of hematopoietic (bone marrow transplantation) is similar to that of other hematopoietic stem cell cultures. In addition, there is increasing use in cord blood culture in adults and continuous improvement in results.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be done from someone else (whether relatives or strangers). Agriculture of this type is called an exotic donor (alginate). Alternatively, agriculture can be done using hematopoiet stem cells of the same patient, called autologate.

As mentioned, bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells are collected from living donors, often family members, or foreign donors who have volunteered to check the appropriateness of the donation and have been enrolled in international bone marrow donor databases.

As with any complicated treatment, umbilical cord blood for bone marrow transplantation has disadvantages and improvements. The doctor who will perform the transplant should recommend the most suitable solution for the patient, after considering the opportunities and risks, and the possibilities available for the same patient.

Advantages of cord blood use

Loans of Islamic banks in the balance

Requires a low level of tissue matching (HLA) between the donor and the recipient compared to the stem cell culture originating from bone marrow or peripheral blood, so there is a lower risk that the therapist will develop Graft (Graft, Host Disease, GvHD) The donor cells attack the body of the processor.
Blood cord meals are stored and available immediately if the handler needs a transplantation process promptly. But the bone marrow meal, not immediately available and requires a procedure that includes a number of steps. Bone marrow donation and peripheral blood stem cells only begin under a special application.
Misuse of umbilical cord blood

Since the umbilical cord meal has fewer cells than the stem cell meal, which is sourced from bone marrow or peripheral blood, the hematopoietic activation is slower and as a result there is a greater tendency for infection.
The absence of the possibility of giving the treated white blood cells of the type of lymphocytes of the same donor after the agriculture, which can improve the results of agriculture in certain cases.
Cord blood can not be used for transplantation in cases where the donor (where cord blood is collected at birth) has been reported to be a hereditary disease.