Cord Blood information

Sorry for the crash but I thought some of you mommy to be's would be interested in some eye opening information about cord blood and why public banking, I feel, is better then private banking.

Here is the article:

This is one of the main reasons why it is so debatable:

It's very unlikely that your child would be treated with his own cord blood
Right now, most diseases in children that benefit from stem cell transplants have a genetic basis. If your baby developed one of those illnesses, his cord blood wouldn't be beneficial because it would contain the genetic instructions for the disease. If a child with leukemia, for instance, is treated with his own cord blood, he might eventually develop the disease again because his cord blood contains the genetic code for leukemia.

Cord Blood

Re: Cord Blood information

Thanks for posting this. I am so undecided on what to do. It brought up good points!
More to think about! LOL

Re: Cord Blood information

Our bodies have built-in insurance policies. If one crucial gene goes bad, there is usually one or 2 genes that can take its place, in order to avoid a catastrophe.

Becuase of this, diseases like cancer occur after 2 subsequent gene defects (so the 'insurance' gene is also damaged). One may be inherited (and like the original poster stated, that defect would be in the cord blood stem cells), but the other is usually acquired.... (by chromosomal damage due to UV, chemicals, or mistakes in duplication of chromosomes during normal cell division during childhood/adulthood). It is extremely rare for a baby to be born with both genes damaged, since such a problem would likely lead to a miscarriage.

If the cord blood is banked, the baby can get a new lease on life by regaining it's cells before that second gene defect occurred. Since it's the baby's own cells, there is no need for immunosuppressant drugs like after an organ transplant.

Also, if a sibling/family member runs into trouble, they are less likely to reject this cord blood than tissue from an unrelated person.

hope this helps....

Message edited 1/21/2008 12:16:56 PM.