Stem Cell Research – Some FAQs

You might have heard about the advancements surrounding the stem cell research and increasing cord blood pricing issues. You may wonder how stem cell differs from the general human cells and why they are the subject of such vigorous debate. So let us explore more by checking the answers to some frequently asked questions about stem cells. 

What are stem cells?

We can say stem cells are the body’s raw materials – the cells from which specialized cells are

generated. They have a remarkable potential to renew themselves through cell division which help in internal repairing. In some organs such as gut and bone marrow, the damaged cells are repaired and replaced by the stem cells on a routine basis. Another important characteristic that distinguishes stem cells from other cell types is its capability to become an organ-specific cell under certain physiologic or experimental conditions. 

Why Stem cells are important and what are the benefits of stem cell research?

Unique regenerative abilities of the stem cells offer promising medical solutions in treating several debilitating conditions. According to researchers and doctors, the stem cell studies helps in availing a better understanding about how diseases develop in a human body. Regenerative medicine therapy is a remarkable initiative that revolves around the benefits of stem cell research. Since stem cells have the potential to repair and renew, it can be used to treat damaged tissues in people. Drug testing is another notable application of stem cell. Human stem cells are programmed into tissue-specific cells for testing new drugs. Safety and quality of investigational drugs are tested using such programmed stem cells in laboratory. 

What are the sources of stem cells? 

Embryonic stem cells, as the name indicates are found in the embryos that are three to five days old. Bone marrow, fat and most of the adult tissues have adult stem cells. Perinatal stem cells are found in the amniotic fluid and baby’s cord blood. And that is why the medical communities are encouraging the banking of baby’s cord blood and tissue these days.

Why Donate Cord Blood and Tissue?

Stem cell-rich blood present in the umbilical cord of a new born is termed as cord blood (CB). Until recently, this blood was discarded along with the placenta right after the child birth. But with the recent advancements and remarkable benefits of stem cell research, scientists have discovered its life saving potential. Cord blood stem cells can be used to treat more than 80 life-threatening diseases. It is also considered as a better alternative to bone marrow transplants. Moreover, the future perspectives of CB and umbilical cord tissue look bright and promising. And that is why new-born baby’s cord blood banking has been gaining wide acceptance over the past decade. If you are an expectant parent, then you might be faced with a challenging question – whether or not to bank your baby’s cord blood and tissue? For many, the answer depends on their family medical history, financial structure and personal preference. 

Most of the parents-to-be who can’t afford the higher costs of private cord blood banking may decide to discard the CB after the child birth. On the other hand, if you decide to donate the cord blood and umbilical cord tissue, then it can be a life-saving option for someone. Patients with leukemia, lymphoma or other debilitating conditions can be treated with the cord blood stem cell transplant. Donation of cord blood to a public bank is free. When you donate your newborn’s cord blood, it will be listed on the registry and provided to a patient who needs transplant quickly. 

If you have decided to donate your baby’s cord blood, then you need to discuss the same with your doctor. Go through the eligibility criteria for public cord blood donation and check whether you meet them. Find more information about the list of hospitals that are tied up with the public cord blood banks so that you can work through the enrolment process.

Why Donate Cord Blood & Tissue?

Stem cells, also known as ‘master cells’ are not only used for research purposes but are also used for clinical practices. Some of the major physical conditions that can be treated with stem cell transplants include cancers, blood disorders, congenital metabolic disorders and immunodeficiency disorders. Benefits of stem cell research are many and that is why researchers have been encouraging the storage and preservation of cord blood cells and tissues.

You can either store your newborn’s cord blood in a reliable private bank offering family cord blood services or donate it to a public bank. CB given to a private bank is processed and frozen in cryogenic storage tanks for long-term preservation. Storing the umbilical cord blood tissue can cost you a pretty penny, whereas donating the CB to a public bank is free. If you can’t afford the expensive costs of private family cord blood banking services, then it is advised to donate it rather than throwing it away. Cancer patients who need stem cell transplants might be looking for a donor and they rely on the public bank donations. Your donation to the public cord blood bank can be a life-saving match for cancer patients and can give them a second chance at life. 

If you have decided to donate your baby’s cord blood and cord blood tissue, then it is important for you to sign up for the process in between the 28^th and 34^th week of pregnancy. Speak with your doctor for availing more information and guidance. Public cord blood banks have several set of guidelines and eligibility criteria. Go through the details before signing up for the donation. Moreover, you need to submit a consent form and also complete a questionnaire about your maternal and family health. Last but not the least, your blood sample will be collected and screened for infectious diseases in order to ensure the safety of transplant patients.

Is the Cord Blood Banking Cost Worth it?

Remarkable benefits of stem cell research are many and one of the major breakthroughs in the field of stem cell research and development was the discovery of stem cell presence in umbilical cord blood. This discovery led to a new practise in the medical field – cord blood banking.  If you are an expectant parent, then it is one of the most important decisions that you need to make before the birth of the baby. 

Blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord is termed as cord blood (CB). Researchers have

found out that the cord blood is rich in stem cells. Harvesting the cord blood right after the child birth and preserving it for long term storage is termed as umbilical cord blood banking. Valuable stem cells present in the CB has the potential to treat ischemic vascular disease, metabolic storage disease, hemoglobinopathies, neurological disorders, malignant and non-malignant diseases. Moreover, the umbilical cord blood stem cells are also used for regenerative medicine therapy.  Preserving the cord blood cells and cord tissues proves beneficial not only for the baby, but also for other members of the family. Expectant parents need to realise the remarkable benefits of stem cell research and think about banking the newborn’s umbilical cord blood, especially if your family has a medical history of genetically inherited diseases or disorders.

Private and public umbilical cord blood banking services are available. A whopping amount of money is charged by the private cord blood banks for the collection, processing and storage of CB, whereas donation of CB to a public bank is free of cost. If you have decided to bank your newborn’s cord blood in private facility, then it is strongly recommended to start the planning in advance. Do spend some extra time in research and planning, which will help you in finding the best family cord blood banking services. Expectant parents who can’t afford the higher private cord blood banking prices can donate the baby’s cord blood to public banks so that it will be available for free to anyone who needs it.

3 Tips to Help You Choose Family Cord Blood Bank

Cord blood banking has been gaining immense popularity these days. This new trend in the medical community that promises lifetime health protection of a child has caught the attention of most expectant parents.  Umbilical cord blood and tissue collected after the child birth contains stem cells which has the incredible potential to treat several diseases. With more and more people realising the remarkable benefits of stem cell research and treatments, the number of parents opting for cord blood banking are increasing. 

So, if you have decided to bank the cord blood, here are some tips to help you out. Go ahead and take a look at the following points to get a better insight. 

1. Do your research: Spend enough time to do some research regarding the importance of storingcord blood (CB) and umbilical cord tissue. You can’t rush to a decision when it is about banking the CB. So start planning ahead of time. Talk with your family and friends. Moreover, decide whether to choose the public or private banking option. If you wish to donate the cord blood, go for the public banking service; choose a private family cord banking facility to store the CB for your own future purpose.
2. Review the options: List out the names of private or public cord banks in and around your locality. The next step is to do a background check so that you can find more information regarding their reputation and service quality. Does the bank function in compliance with the FDA or AABB rules and regulations? Is the bank accredited? Always make it a point to check whether they follow stringent quality assurance techniques when processing and storing umbilical cord tissue and blood.
3. Questions: Have a discussion with the medical team of the bank that offers family cord banking. Enquire about their CB collection and processing methods. Is the bank equipped with latest technologies to store the cord blood and tissue? Have they facilitated any successful transplants? Find as much information as possible.

Above all, talk with your physician for availing recommendations. Not only will they make you understand about the undeniable benefits of stem cell research, but also guide you in taking an informed decision.

 

Are you looking for authentic Family Cord Blood Services?

‘Stem cell banking’ has become a widely known term in the USA. For the last three decades, people have become familiar with stem cell banking. It has become reality because of modern technology and hard-work of researchers. A team of researchers profoundly studied about cord blood and they came up with constructive results. In this manner, the whole of the mankind was gifted with cord blood banks. Seeing the demand of it, there are both public and private banks. The public bank accepts donations. While the private bank preserves baby’s stem cells in safe and secure storage rooms with reasonable charges.

The researchers have found many benefits of stem cell research. Seeing many benefits of stem cell

research, they are hopeful for treating more diseases through umbilical cord blood. As per the latest information, it is said that the cord blood can treat 80 diseases. These diseases are very critical like Cancers, Diabetes, blood disorders and the others. Cord blood is a natural gift which has high potentiality of creating new stem cells and it can also repair the damaged cells in a human body. As soon as the parents came to know about it, they started registering with the authorized umbilical cord blood banks.

CariCord is a private cord blood bank which offers the best family cord blood services at reasonable prices. It ships a collection-kit to your home so that you can directly take the kit with you and collect the natural cord tissue of your baby. Once the collection process is over, the representative comes to collect the kit and handle it for the lab processing. Being the best family cord blood services company, we assure the quality process of your baby’s stem cells. And more importantly, we are an accredited and FDA authorized private cord blood bank in the USA. So, secure your baby’s future health with recognized cord tissue bank!

The Umbilical Cord Blood Can Revive Life

At present, the umbilical cord blood is the talk of the town. All over the world, there are many cord blood banking companies that offer world-class storage facilities for preserving the newborn baby’s placenta blood. It is all because of the researchers who invested precious years in the investigation and they found the positive usage of the umbilical cord blood. Many years ago, there was no knowledge about the cord tissue and it was regarded useless. The health-practitioners used to throw it into the garbage. Thanks to the investigation team! Now, many patients can be saved from the dangerous diseases like Bone Marrow Failure, Blood Disorders, Cancers, Diabetes and others. 

As per the latest report of the benefits of stem cell research, it is said that the stem cells work as the vital medicine for saving lives against 80 critical diseases. And this could be done by saving your cute baby’s placenta blood at the time of its birth. But, you need a registration with any of the cord blood banks for preserving the stem cells. Before you go to the hospital for delivery, you need to inform the bank representatives so that a collecting person can come and collect the cord tissue. 

After knowing the benefits of stem cell research many parents are securing their baby's future health by storing the precious and natural stem cells in the certified stem cell banks. The banks have been authorized by the FDA and the American Association of Blood Banks. So, before you register at any of the cord tissue banks, verify whether the bank is accredited by the FDA or not. Depending on the services, the private banks might have different prices for storing the cord blood for nearly 20 years. Really, this medical innovation has given hope to millions and they can revitalize their lives from the pain.

Umbilical cord tissue can cure serious disease

FDA approved umbilical cord blood banks provide perfect storage of your baby’s cord blood. For collecting the precious blood, our technician use gravity gas bag system so that the cells do not get damaged and remain in their natural state. Most of the FDA approved umbilical cord blood banks use two methods of collections. Both the ways are safer and they neither give pain to the mother nor harm to a newborn baby. It is up to the parents. They can prefer whichever method they like.

After hearing about unbelievable benefits of stem cell research, more and more family are getting registered for it. And it is a positive sign for medical industry. Whichever disease couldn’t be treated earlier now has been curable with the help of cord tissue therapies and the patients are feeling great joy of regaining life. Even the researchers are very excited about these unbelievable benefits of stem cell research. It is now possible to cure more than 80 severe diseases like Cancer, Diabetes, leukemia, lymphoma, autoimmune diseases and more.

Why you should preserve irreplaceable umbilical cord tissue to genuine family banking is because it is very responsible task to collect the cord from your doctor and to send the collection kit to the authorized centers. After knowing the importance of irreplaceable umbilical cord tissue, they are stored less than 196 degree Celsius temperature at a laboratory. So before consulting to any of the persons, spend time on research and you would get authorized stem cell collection centers. Little investment of yours gives you high return of your child’s health. What is more than a kid’s health & happiness for responsible parents? A smiling face of your kid makes your day brilliant & bright! That is why, without spending more time on any other matter, contact the gynecologist & get the right information about cord tissue banking.

Cord blood is a Life savior for many

Cord blood banking is a must decision that all parents must take while they are expecting parents. All expecting parents must talk to their doctor and take all details about cord blood banking. It is very beneficial for all parents to consider this. This not only saves your child’s life but it will also help to cure your family members if they are suffering from any deadly disease. You can use the stem cells to build new tissues, and organs and give the patient a new life. If you want you can also donate these stem cells so that someone else can use and get a new life. 

The umbilical cord blood is said to have the maximum amount of stem cells than found in bone marrow. These stems can be preserved for years and can be used at any time in the future to cure your child and other family members when there is an emergency. Cord blood being rich in stem cells was not known to people earlier or else many lives would have been saved. These cells are capable of molding themselves easily in any type of environment in the human body. Indirectly you can say these are the cells that made your baby. This cord blood is collected after the delivery of the baby and after the clamp of the umbilical cord is cut.

Surprising benefits of cord blood banking

What is cord blood?

Cord blood is found in the umbilical cord and the placenta of the baby after the baby is found. This cord blood is rich in stem cells that have been used to cure the patients with life-taking diseases. These stems cells have the ability to multiply and build new tissues and organs in the body that help the ill person to cure fast. For years we have known that stem cells can cure cancer and other diseases. But most of us didn’t know what is cord blood and its benefits. These stems cells that were earlier found only bone marrow are now found in the umbilical cord blood. If we knew its benefits earlier we would not have wasted this blood and would have had enough stem cells in stock with us.

What is cord blood banking?

Cord blood banking is a process in which the expecting parents decide to store the stem cells and contact a bank for the same. This bank is informed about the delivery date and they are available in the hospital to collect it. After they collect the blood then in their laboratory they extract the stem cells from that, process it and store it at the right temperature for up to 15 years. These banks have all the facilities that help them collect process and store the stem cells without damaging them. Parents can choose between private banking and public banking. Many parents usually ask their doctors what is cord blood banking and what will be the benefits of this. Doctors explain the benefits of it to their patients and then leave it to them to decide it.