Monday, February 18, 2008

Cord Blood Transplantation - Make A Wise Decision

It was only a few years ago when the placenta was considered useless and thrown away as if it was a waste product. Now-a-days, it is a well known fact that human blood can be collected from the placenta, when it is separated at childbirth and stored for future use to treat dreaded diseases such a thallasemia, leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia. Therefore, cord blood transplantation has gained a lot of importance.

The Advantages Of Cord Blood Transplantation.

The umbilical cord stem cells can be isolated from the placenta more easily than those from bone marrow. Stem cell harvesting from bone marrow requires surgery.

Cord blood has a greater capacity to renew and replenish blood cells.

It is not necessary to have cord blood transplantation from someone whose blood group matches yours. Nor is it necessary that the donor should be a family member. Even an unrelated person will do. And thirdly, you do not have to wait to find a suitable donor.

Therefore, cord blood can be used whenever you want to because it can be stored in a cord blood bank. You will be able to use it after three weeks of it being isolated from the placenta. It is stored by keeping it frozen in liquid nitrogen.

The donation of cord blood does not adversely affect your health in any way. In fact, the only thing that happens is that you save a life!

The immune cells in cord blood will not attack the patient’s tissue whereas, the bone marrow stem cells may do this.

There are fewer chances of any deadly viruses, which may cause infections, being transmitted to the patient through cord blood.

Cord blood can be stored for up to ten years and still remain good for cord blood transplantation.

It is certain that after reading these benefits of cord blood transplantation, you will want to store your cord blood too. For more information visit pregnancy period.

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