Transplanted Umbilical Cord Blood can treat Leukemia and 80 other medical conditions. It used to be thrown away after babies are born. Scientists found out that cord blood has stem cells, and that is 10 times more than an adult's bone marrow.
Umbilical cord blood is also easier to match with bone marrow between the recipient and the donor. Stem cells are being marketed as an easy way to fix dermatological issues and treat osteoarthritis, cerebral palsy, and other degenerative diseases, Business Standard reported.
At present, the umbilical cord blood's stem cells can only treat blood-related diseases. There are still a lot of developments on this treatment in the future.
Cord blood is rich in hematopoietic stem cells, which can increase any type of blood cell, CNN reported. Bone marrow is also a good source of stem cells, but cord blood can be collected and stored in advance in liquid nitrogen lasting for decades. However, there is only less than 0.04 percent chance that a baby can later on benefit from his or her banked cord blood, according to the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Only 5 percent of all births in the US have babies' cord blood saved despite all the studies proving its curative powers. The rest of the cord bloods that are not saved are unfortunately thrown away. Meanwhile, only one out of every ten of the saved cord blood can pass for long-term storage, according to National Marrow Donor Program chief strategy officer Michael Boo.
Cord Blood can also get very expensive with prices ranging from $22,000 to $45,000 each unit. To lower the cost more parents should be persuaded to donate their children's cord blood. Also, more doctors should be influenced to use this treatment. Meanwhile, another option is the cord blood transplants among adults, which is considered a last resort.
