Welcoming a new baby into the world is something millions of people do each year; it is a life changing event that many dream about their entire lives and most parents know that with the decision to create a family comes many more decisions. During pregnancy, women are always worried about their health, the health of their baby and how to best prepare for their new bundle of joy. They worry what labor will be like and whether or not they will know when true labor has started. They spend nine months hoping for a healthy, happy baby with ten fingers and ten toes; and most people are granted their wishes and bring a healthy baby into the world.

What many parents forget to consider is whether or not they want to bank their baby’s cord blood. Cord blood banking is something that a woman’s OBGYN will ask her about immediately after her baby is born. Cord blood is what the doctor removes from a woman’s baby’s umbilical cord and from the baby’s placenta immediately after birth. The blood found in the umbilical cord and in the placenta is home to stem cells that can be used to treat and potentially cure medical diseases that a child could suffer from later in life. Parents can make the decision to have their baby’s blood banked for future use for only their child or placed in a public bank for use by a child that may or may not be a match to their child’s blood.

When a parent chooses to save their baby’s blood for private use, the blood is banked specifically for their baby. That means that if their child never needs the stem cells from the blood, then it will never be used. Those that choose to save it for public use can use the blood if their child one day needs it and it is still available. Otherwise, a child with a disease that has matching stem cells is free to use that blood without consenting the parents of the child to whom the blood belongs. Either way, the potential of saving a life through blood banking is there.

Stem cells found in this blood are used to treat life threatening diseases that a child may be diagnosed with in the future. These diseases include leukemia and other types of cancer. For more than two decades, doctors have been using the stem cells found in this blood to successfully treat these diseases. In addition, doctors are also doing research to find out if the stem cells in this blood can be used to treat brain injuries and even hearing loss. The potential of this blood is yet unknown in many areas of health, but the help it can provide in the instance of a potential disease later in life is known and many cases of stem cell use later in life have been successful. The decision is entirely up to the parents of a new baby; choosing not to use cord blood means that it is simply discarded.

Located at Toronto General Hospital, Cells for Life – 585 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2N2, Canada +1 416-260-0808 ‎- are a Cord blood Toronto clinic experienced in cord blood Calgary.

Located at Toronto General Hospital, Cells for Life – 585 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2N2, Canada 1 416-260-0808 – are a clinic experienced in cord blood banking.
http://www.cellsforlife.com/

Author Bio: Located at Toronto General Hospital, Cells for Life – 585 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2N2, Canada +1 416-260-0808 ‎- are a Cord blood Toronto clinic experienced in cord blood Calgary.

Category: Parenting
Keywords: family, health, birth, pregnancy, parents, society, cancer, illness, babies, parenting, humanity