Here I am, a middle-aged mother-to-be, living my beautiful life in Toronto, Canada, dreaming of the day when my little one will be born, hoping and praying that he will be alright, yet, seriously considering the cord blood banking options. So many people were already saved by the revolutionary stem cell transplantation procedure, with a success rate of more than 60% with stem cells donated from a family, and a complete match (100%) for the donor baby. Who cares if this will never be needed? Yet, imagine if it does. How reassuring it must be for the entire family to know that so much hope can be found some day in the originally stored cells!
I heard any family may benefit from the stored cord blood of their baby. They say the odds of needing stem cell transplantation are higher among families with a known history of leukemia, immune deficiency diseases, lymphomas, thalassemia, metabolic storage disorders, sickle cell anemia or other similar medical issues, and if I recall well, at least two rather close relatives of mine had to deal with these challenges throughout their lives. And they wished they had banked some of their babies cord blood, but, too late in their case.
Which is why I decided not to take any chances, not when my babys health, life and future are concerned. Not in these days, when revolutionary discoveries are made that can restore hope in cases once thought absolutely hopeless. Just think what stem cells are: extremely young, immature cells without any sort of programming about becoming any other cell type. When needed, they can turn into absolutely any cell, from neurons to liver cells. The other days, I read somewhere that, over the last two decades, more than twenty thousand people all over the world have benefited from umbilical cord bold transplantations.
Courier Companies
What else is there to consider? It is a painless process for the donor. For a large number of couriers, Canada is just a playground: they have arrangements with the public and private hospitals all over the country, so I really need not worry about my babys cord blood sample being urgently shipped to the bank of my familys choice.
The only minor concern might be that only a limited number of hematopoietic cells can be obtained nowadays from the stored cord blood sample. Yet, scientists are already taking care of this inconvenience, too. There is research underway on a new lab growing and multiplying technique called ex vivo expansion that might provide some days enough stem cells for successful transplants even on adults or larger children that need so many more cells than the little ones.
I am also considering donating the cord blood sample to a public bank so that it may be used by any compatible match out there. Or even donate it for research. The mere thought of being able to help another human life follow its healthy natural course is more than enough to make me pick up the phone and start making all the necessary arrangements. Who knows? Some day, this might be anyone elses chance to breathe, smile, live and love for so many more years to come.
