Stem Cell Banking-A form of health insurance

Published: 23rd October 2011
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Stem cells are found throughout the body, but especially in bone marrow, in the peripheral blood and in the umbilical cord. They have the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiate into a diverse range of specialised cell types. They can transform into specific cells needed by the body to heal it. Stem cells transplantation can come from your own body (an autologous transplant) or more commonly from a donor (an allogeneic transplant).

Stem cell banking is a facility which stores stem cells for future use. Umbilical cord blood is blood that remains in the placenta and in the attached umbilical cord after childbirth. Cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of childbirth, after the cord has been detached from the newborn. Cord blood is collected because it contains stem cells, including hematopoietic cells, which can be used to treat hematopoietic and genetic disorders. Cord blood contains all the normal elements of blood - red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma.


Cord blood banking is a simple, safe and painless procedure and happens immediately after birth after cutting the cord. The cord blood collected is then transferred to the laboratory and frozen in cryogenic storage tanks for long-term preservation. Nowadays, the umbilical cord is also stored. Stem cells represent an exciting area in medicine because of their potential to regenerate and repair damaged tissue. Some current therapies, such as bone marrow transplantation, already make use of stem cells and their potential for regeneration of damaged tissues.
Storing your baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells is an investment towards the future health of the family. It ensures an exact match for the child and a more likely match for another blood-related family member. Cord blood stem cells from a family member are much more likely to be successfully transplanted than those from an unrelated donor.

To protect your child, parents should opt for cord blood banking. Cord blood can be stored in Cord Blood Bank India for future use for your child or any other family member. The baby will have a hundred per cent match with these cells and siblings will have twenty five per cent match. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and helps to preserve a biological resource for future use. It helps protect one from incurable diseases like leukemia and thalassemia. Trials are in progress for Alzheimers, cartilage regeneration, diabetes, heart diseases, liver diseases, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury and even strokes. Cord Blood Bank India screen maternal blood to ensure that the samples are safe and take stringent steps to ensure quality.

These facilities offer the assurance of an advanced cord blood repository with a research back-up and superior storage conditions for precious stem cells. Hopefully the cord blood is never needed, but banking, it is essentially a form of health insurance.
For further information visit us: http://cordlifeindia.com/

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