Cord Blood. Post on Cord Blod facts.

What is cord blood?

The blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of a baby is known as Cord blood. Essential nutrients like oxygen is passed from the mother's blood into the babies blood in pregnancy. This tube that supplies this life giving blood is called the umbilical cord. The blood found in this umbilical cord and placenta (the bag that holds the baby in the womb) after birth contains an abundant quantities of large numbers of stem cells. Stem cells create white cells that fight disease, the red cells that carry oxygen and platelets that help blood clot.

These cells are expected to help in treating a number of diseases and disorders, like leukemia and anemia. When this cord blod is given to appropriate patients it replenishes the stem cells, making recovery possible.

Benefits of cord blood over bone marrow:
Stem cells taken from cord blodd have some advantages over bone marrow stem cells. Collection or harvesting of bone marrow is painful and expensive whereas for cord blood stem cells it is a plain and painless procedure. Harvesting bone marrow requires anesthetic and extracting the marrow from the donor's bones with the help of a needle and syringe but collection of cord blood involves no such thing.

Cord blod transplant patients have better survival rate and less frequent hospitalization as compared to bone marrow. As such the total cost of  bone marrow transplants becomes greater in the scenario of patient requiring frequent hospitalizations due to later complications. Lastly, there is a higher degree of difficulty in getting a match between the donor and recipient in a bone marrow transplant.

Safety of the mother and baby:
About  five to six tablespoons of cord blood is collected. The collection process isn't complicated or requires any special preparation on the part of mother or baby. Cord blood is taken when the baby has been born and it doesn't affect the mother also. All the collection equipment such as the needles or syringes are never brought near the mother or the baby. And the collection time is just two to three minutes.

Difference between cord blood stem cells and embryonic stem cells:
In the case of cord blood collection is done from a umbilical cord shortly after the delivery of the baby. The process doesn't involves any pain and is simple. But embryonic stem cells are collected from fertilized eggs that are in the early stages of development.

Uses of cord blood:
Cord blood stem cells can be transfused into patients who undergo chemotherapy. Because either due to the blood diseases or radiation their own stem cells have been eliminated. In case a matching bone marrow donor cannot be found cord blood can be used instead of bone marrow stem cells. And as per different studies cells from cord blodd migrate to the bone marrow, and they start to create healthy blood cells. This way the immune system is rejuvenated.

Cord blood donation is like giving life to someone. A patient who doesn't get a matching marrow for transplantation has no other choices but cord blood is definitely the best and life giving option.