Cord blood is being increasingly seen as an option for stem cell related treatments. The blood in the umbilical cord of a baby has been found to have some special properties.

It contains a rich amount of immature stem cells, which can be preserved and can grow into any type of blood cells. This is a big breakthrough as the primary source of stem cells has been bone marrows and it has been very difficult to find matching bone marrow donors for transplants.

Cord blood related information is increasing being made available as the benefits of cord blood are being felt. Cord blood information is currently available in most hospitals and with doctors. A lot of cord blood related information is also available on the internet.

Parents expecting their baby should talk to their doctors or pediatricians to discuss cord blood related information and clarify their doubts.

Cord blood from the baby is normally discarded. The blood can be collected from the umbilical cord of a baby after the baby’s birth and is complete safe to collect.

This can be used to save lives of patients suffering from stem cell related diseases. Further in cases where the family has a history of diseases like leukemia or other blood cell related diseases, it might be a good option to reserve the cord blood within the family’s use, so that it can be used for the same child or a sibling or some other family member.

Private cord blood banks provide information regarding such services, which are normally available for a fee. In some cases, insurance companies provide free reservation of cord blood within the family for cases where the probability of needing it is high.

Parents can collect such cord blood related information by talking to their physicians and also talking to blood banks and insurance providers. Cord blood banks, collect, test, store and preserve the cord blood.

They also tissue type the cord blood and store the information in their registries or databases. In case of public cord blood banks, this information is available for outside view, and hospitals which require cord blood, can search these databases to find out and request for a matching cord blood for transplant.

Cord blood banks and donations are increasing in number although, in some specific ethnic groups the number of donations are still less and there is a lot of need to increase the awareness about cord blood.