Cord blood donation | Donating cordblood

Persons suffering from blood cell related problems have few options for treatment. One of the most successful but difficult treatment for these cases is a bone marrow transplant. Bone marrow transplant is required for cases where the patient suffers from problems in stem cells.

Stem cells in the body are the primary source for generating the required amount of blood cells all through a human being’s life.When there is a problem with stem cells, they may either generate too much blood cells or lesser number of blood cells then required, each resulting in a different condition and different disease.

In these cases the doctor has to find a way to remove the existing damaged stem cells and insert new and healthy stem cells in the patient’s body which will generate the required amount of blood cells.

Cord blood, i.e. blood from the umbilical cord and the placenta after a baby’s birth, has been found to have special properties and is found to be a rich source of stem cells. Doctors have found that these can be easily collected, preserved and later used when a need for stem cells arise for a matching patient.

Cord blood donation is being promoted now for this reason. As removing the cord blood is a simple and safe procedure and since it can be stored for a long time (around ten years), cord blood donation is being highly seen as a solution to solve the problem of availability that is related to bone marrow.

A person who wants to take part in cord blood donation has to inform their doctor during her pregnancy and the particular hospital or a cord blood bank will make the required arrangements and preparations.

After the baby’s birth, the cord blood will be collected and stored in a special bag. The Cord blood will then be tested as it has to satisfy certain conditions to be eligible for donation. One the cord blood is found suitable for donation it will be preserved by adding certain chemicals and then stored in cryogenically sealed containers.

Cord blood donation centers, will then add the particular tissue and other details to their database. The databases are available for access from across the world.

Doctors who required cord blood for transplants will be search these databases from different cord blood donation centers to find a matching cord blood that can be used as a source of stem cells.

Due to the advantages of using cord blood for stem cell transplants, the number of public cord blood banks and donation centers are increasing.