Expert advice on storing your baby’s cord
blood
The promising field of stem cell research
is prompting more parents store their newborns’ umbilical cord blood. Cord
blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells and is currently used in transplants
for some patients with leukemia, lymphoma, immune deficiencies and inherited
metabolic disorders. Most infusions come from unrelated donors, partly because
of concerns that receiving one’s own defective cells may cause the same
diseases to return.
If
you want to be able to access your baby’s stem cells, go private.
Research shows that cord blood may be able
to safely regenerate other types of cells in the body, fueling optimism that
doctors may one day routinely use a patient’s own stored cord blood to treat
such conditions as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries and diabetes. “There
are 80 diseases that can be treated with stem cells,” says Morey Kraus, chief
scientific officer for Cambridge, Mass.-based ViaCord.
Parents can also choose to bank a child’s
umbilical cord tissue. The cord contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which
can create structural and connective tissue. They can also be easily reproduced
in a lab and don’t have to be matched as closely to the recipient as other stem
cells do.
Should We Bank Our Baby's Cord Blood?
Although it will take about 10 years or
longer for MSCs to be commonly used in medical treatment, these cells show the
most promise for treating inflammatory disease and tissue damage,” says
Jeffrey M. Karp, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical
School in Boston and a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell
Institute. Research on MSCs is exploding: There are more than 200 clinical
trials in progress worldwide.
If you’re considering private banking, do
your homework:
Ask around
Seek advice from your friends and
physician.
Check credentials
How long has the bank been in business? Is
it profitable? Does it have experience with successful transplants? Is it
accredited by a group like the American Association of Blood Banks? Some of the
bigger private banks include Cord Blood Registry, ViaCord, Cryo-Cell and
LifebankUSA.
Compare costs
Collection fees typically top out at
$3,000; payment plans and gift registries are available. Storage generally
costs $125 to $250 a year
