By cord blood, we all know it is the blood from the umbilical cord. At the time of pregnancy and labor, the maternal and fetal transfer of cells through the umbilical cord makes the cord blood rich with proteins, minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. For this reason, the blood is stored for future uses as alternative medicine or in transplant.

As the stem cells in the umbilical cord are resilient enough to regrow and reproduce, people consider storing them in a cord blood bank for reuse. Recent medical research has revealed that cord blood can cure a minimum of eighty incurable diseases, including cancer. The first-ever cord blood transplant took place in 1983, where the six-year-old patient was suffering from Fanconi’s Anemia.

However, two types of banks store cord blood- private and public. While the first one deposits the cord blood only for the owner’s use, you can also donate your baby’s cord blood to a public cord blood bank. Public banks wield cord blood mainly in research works. The cord blood banking prices in a private bank are a little higher but practical, as in a public bank, you cannot claim your donated cord blood when necessary immediately. Since the umbilical cord blood contains ten times more stem cells than bone marrow, cord blood transfer can be a far better option without worrying about the donor.

How to use cord blood?

The cord blood stem cells include the capacity to cure nearly eighty incurable diseases. It is why it is used in transplant medicine for years. As the immedicable illness damages the body’s self immune system, the regenerative power of stem cells can activate them again.

Where stem cells restore the damaged autoimmune system of the body, transplant medicine builds new blood and immune system in the receiver’s body. That is why cord blood stem cells are so famous in regenerative medicine.

For the baby

Though it is a much-debated topic of who can use the baby’s cord blood, medical professionals have already resolved the dispute. Based on numerous clinical trials, they have firmly concluded that people can use the cord blood for the baby, his/her sibling, parents, and even close family members. Even in the participation of certain clinical trials for neuroblastoma, cerebral palsy, and autism, children might require their own cord blood.

Hereditary or chronic diseases break down the self-repairing system of the body and make it more vulnerable than before. At this point, the diseased person needs cord blood stem cells in his/her body. In transplant medicine, cord blood stem cells knock together whole new blood and the immune system for repairing the damage in the infected body. The cord blood and stem cells in regenerative medicine help regulate the ailing self-healing system to heal the illness.

In the transplant medicine

As we have said earlier, cord blood contains millions of stem cells, and among them, the primary one is Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs). HSC is known as “blood-forming” cells, as it forms blood and immune cells in the body and eventually converts into a red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet. Though bone marrow is known to be the popular source of HSC, transplanting cord blood is a more hassle-free process. In terminally ill diseases, like cancer, blood and bone marrow disorder, the success of the cord blood transplant is certified.

Moreover, the usage of cord blood in transplant medicine has plenty of advantages. In an emergency, time plays a vital role, and searching for a donor can take even months. But when it comes to the baby’s cord blood, it is more easily accessible than bone marrow. As the cord blood gets deposited to the bank just after the baby’s birth, there can be no contamination possible in the cord blood stem cells. The more interesting fact is, even the family members of the baby can use it.