1. Would you consider banking your baby’s cord blood and tissues? Explain your decision. Yes I would consider banking my baby’s cord blood and tissues. It is said that Cord blood has been used to treat many life-threatening diseases including leukemia, other cancers, blood disorders, metabolic disorders, and immune diseases (CBR Systems, 1995-2014).
I think it would be worth the try.
2. What are the general differences between private and stem cell Research Cord Blood">public cord blood banks? Most private facilities provide an opportunity for donors to store their cord blood. This is in the hope that if, in the future, a member of their family becomes sick with a stem cell treatable disease, there might be a perfectly matched unit available to them. Other private banks collect cord blood in case that child develops a condition that could be treated with their own cord blood. For this service they charge an up-front collection fee and then typically charge a yearly rate for on-going storage of the cord blood unit (NHS Blood and Transplant, 2013).
Publicly or government funded facilities, such as the NHS Cord Blood Bank, collect cord blood from public hospitals, free of charge to the donor. The potentially lifesaving product is then stored indefinitely for possible transplant. This unit is available for any patient that needs this particular special tissue type. There is no charge to the donor but the product is not stored specifically for that person or their family (NHS Blood and Transplant, 2013).
The Essay on Stem Cells Blood Cord Umbilical
After a typical delivery the umbilical cord and the blood within it is discarded. Now researchers have discovered that this blood contains valuable stem cells which can be used in the treatment of several blood disorders. Stem cells are simply undeveloped cells that develop into platelets or red and white blood cells. Stem cells will continue to produce blood cells for an indefinite period of time ...
3. Would you prefer to keep the cord blood and tissues stored for family use or would you donate it to a public storage facility to be used by anyone (e.g., medical research, another patient)? Explain your decision. Honestly I would probably do both. Why? Well on one hand I would be able to help my family and on the other hand I will be able to help someone else.
4. What are some of the advantages of having matched MSC and HSC available? There are two primary types of newborn stem cells that have the potential to be used for different treatments: hematopoietic and mesenchymal. Hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs, are blood-forming cells with the ability to self-renew. While mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, can form bone, cartilage, and tissue cells and are predominantly found in the cord tissue. Cord blood predominantly contains hematopoietic stem cells and cord tissue primarily contains mesenchymal stem cells (CBR Systems, 1995-2014).
5. How long can cord blood and tissues be stored and its cells remain viable? According to published regulatory guidelines and current science involving cryogenic storage of cells, cord blood stem cells can be stored indefinitely under the proper conditions (CBR Systems, 1995-2014).
NHS Blood and Transplant. (2013) Retrived from
http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/cordblood/
Cbr cord blood Registry. (1995-2014) Received from
http://www.cordblood.com/best-cord-blood-bank/faqs#question13
