Giving birth is giving new life to your child, but it does not have to stop there. Giving birth can also mean giving life back to someone diagnosed with blood cancer. If you decide to donate your child’s umbilical cord blood when you give birth, you could potentially save the life of someone who is currently facing a life-threatening disease, including blood cancer. The diseases that can be treated by umbilical cord donation are relatively unlikely, but do affect millions of people worldwide.
Umbilical cords are full of blood-forming cells known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These cells are potentially life-saving because they can convert into any type of mature cell, such as red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. In Patients with diseases such as blood cancer, these versatile cells are used to replace, or even rebuild their hematopoietic system, which is the system in the body responsible for the continuous creation of blood cells. You may be familiar with this procedure, because it is more commonly known as a bone marrow transplant.
In order to have a life saving bone marrow transplant, traditionally, a patient is matched with a donor either by finding an unrelated donor on the national bone marrow registry, or less commonly, through a familial match. Yet there is a third option: umbilical cord blood. One of There Goes My Hero’s board members, Geneau Thomas, actually found her life saving match this way!
When you give birth,The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages new parents to donate your child’s umbilical cord to either a public or private umbilical cord blood bank. It is encouraged to save the leftover cord in the case that one day your child, or someone else in your family, develops a serious disease that could be treated with those special cells stored in the cord. If you choose to store your child’s umbilical cord in a private bank, that would mean only you and your family will have access to the cord should you need to use it. Storing the cord in a private bank also means having to pay fees for them to house the cord. Choosing to store your cord in a public bank means that anyone who may need the potentially life saving cells in your umbilical cord will have access to them, and it is also free.
Choosing to store your child’s umbilical cord in a public or private bank is completely safe for both you and your child. Should the cord match with someone in need of a bone marrow transplant, all the cells and DNA needed would be pulled out of the umbilical
cord. You and your family would never need to physically involve yourselves in the donation process.
Umbilical cord blood is crucial in potentially saving lives because:
- The stem cells in umbilical cords are able to grow more blood cells than bone marrow collected from a traditional donor
- Umbilical cord cells can adapt to become most types of cells, which makes them more adaptable
- They can be used for patients who have not been able to find a donor through their family, or the national bone marrow registry
If you choose not to donate your Child’s umbilical cord, it is treated as medical waste and disposed of accordingly. Donating your child’s umbilical cord could mean potentially saving their lives one day, or possibly even saving the lives of others! Please consider donating your cord. If it is something you are interested in, please discuss it with your doctor or midwife.
If you would like to learn more about joining the national bone marrow registry, you can reach out to elena.manco@theregoesmyhero.org.
FAQs
Umbilical cords are full of blood-forming cells known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These cells are potentially life-saving because they can convert into any type of mature cell, such as red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells.
How does an umbilical cord save your life? ›
Umbilical cords are full of blood-forming cells known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These cells are potentially life-saving because they can convert into any type of mature cell, such as red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells.
How does the umbilical cord keep the baby alive? ›
The unborn baby is connected to the placenta by the umbilical cord. All the necessary nutrition, oxygen, and life support from the mother's blood goes through the placenta and to the baby through blood vessels in the umbilical cord.
How can umbilical cord save your life investigatory project? ›
Using the Umbilical Cord After Birth Helps Others
Once the cord is cut, the blood can be: Donated to a public cord blood bank, which is available to anyone who needs a transplant. Saved in a private cord bank for exclusive use by your family. Saved in a private bank for a sibling in need.
What are the benefits of saving the umbilical cord? ›
The most common reasons parents choose cord banking are:
- Your baby's cord blood could be used by someone who needs a stem cell transplant to save their life.
- Private blood banking can help someone in your family if they need a stem cell transplant.
- Banking cord blood doesn't affect you or your baby at all.
The umbilical cord is considered both the physical and emotional attachment between mother and fetus. This structure allows for the transfer of oxygen and nutrients from the maternal circulation into fetal circulation while simultaneously removing waste products from fetal circulation to be eliminated maternally.
How does cord blood save lives? ›
These cells can turn into any kind of blood cell and can be used for transplants that can cure diseases such as blood disorders, immune deficiencies, metabolic diseases, and some kinds of cancers. Research is revealing more and more ways it can save lives. It is precious — almost magical — and absolutely worth keeping.
What happens if you never cut the umbilical cord? ›
Delayed umbilical cord clamping is associated with significant neonatal benefits in preterm infants, including improved transitional circulation, better establishment of red blood cell volume, decreased need for blood transfusion, and lower incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis and intraventricular hemorrhage.
Why are placentas so valuable? ›
The placenta is most often used to heal traumatic wounds and diabetic ulcers. Medical research and doctors use the placenta to help patients with eye injuries and diseases, for spinal and dental procedures and for sports injuries.
What do hospitals do with placentas? ›
Some hospitals still sell placentas in bulk for scientific research, or to cosmetics firms, where they are processed and later plastered on the faces of rich women.
The cord is not directly connected to the mother's circulatory system, but instead joins the placenta, which transfers materials to and from the maternal blood without allowing direct mixing. The length of the umbilical cord is approximately equal to the crown-rump length of the fetus throughout pregnancy.
Is stem cell preservation worth it? ›
No one knows how stem cells will be used in the future, but researchers hope they may be used to treat many conditions, like Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart failure, spinal cord damage, and others. It's possible that storing your child's cord blood cells now may be useful one day in combating these diseases.
What is the conclusion of umbilical cord care? ›
The newly cut umbilical cord can be a pathway for bacteria that can cause newborn sepsis and death. Optimal umbilical cord care practices for newborns and during the first week of life, especially in settings with poor hygiene, has the potential to avoid these preventable neonatal deaths.
What are the benefits of umbilical cord care? ›
Taking care of your newborn's umbilical cord stump prevents infections from forming and keeps your baby happy and healthy. The umbilical cord detaching from your child's body is a natural part of their growth and development.
How much does it cost to save your baby's umbilical cord? ›
Private cord blood banking is expensive. You will pay a starting fee of about $1,000 to $2,000, plus a storage fee of more than $100 a year for as long as the blood is stored. If you want to save the cord blood, you must arrange for it ahead of time. It is not a decision you can make at the last minute.
What do hospitals do with the umbilical cord after birth? ›
Usually, the umbilical cord and placenta are discarded after birth. If a mother chooses to have her cord blood collected, the health care team will do so after the baby is born. With a sterile needle, they'll draw the blood from the umbilical vessels into a collection bag.
What does keeping the umbilical cord do? ›
Although privately banked cord blood is not likely to help your baby, it may help a sibling who has an illness that could be treated with a stem cell transplant. These include leukemia, sickle cell disease, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and thalassemia.
Is the umbilical cord good for you? ›
Cord blood contains stem cells. These are cells that can grow into specific kinds of cells in your body. Stem cells may be used to treat some diseases, like some forms of cancer and anemia. Anemia is when you don't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to the rest of your body.
Do people save the umbilical cord when it falls off? ›
Box it. Newborn babies normally leave the hospital with the stump of their umbilical cord still attached. Between five and 15 days after the baby's birth, it will dry out, turn black and drop off. Some parents decide to keep the remainder of the cord as a keepsake and store it in a special box or scrapbook.
Why is umbilical cord blood so valuable? ›
How does umbilical cord blood help save lives? Umbilical cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells, which can renew themselves and differentiate into other types of cells. Stem cells are used in transplants for patients with cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
