Cord Blood Banks

About Cord Blood Banking

Expectant parents often hear about cord blood banking at some point during the pregnancy, but many are unsure exactly what it entails or if it is worth it. Cord blood banking has many advantages, but parents need to consider many factors before...

What Is Private Family Cord Blood Banking?

Private cord blood banking allows parents to store blood from a baby's umbilical cord and placenta for future use. Cord blood contains primitive stem cells that are capable of developing into several types of mature cells, according to the Kids...

Cord Blood Banking Cons

The blood from an umbilical cord contains stem cells that are capable of transforming into many different types of cells in the body. Umbilical cord blood can be collected and stored in a cord blood bank for possible later use. While the pros of...

What Are the Advantages of Cord Blood Banking?

The potential for stem cell research to revolutionize health care, combined with concerns over ethical issues surrounding the harvesting of stem cells, have garnered much attention from researchers, lobbyists and the media. Cord blood banking...

Pros & Cons of Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood is the blood that remains inside a baby's umbilical cord after it's been cut. Cord blood, like bone marrow, is incredibly rich in stem cells, which are like the body's master cells that can transform into any type of cell in the human...

Cons of Banking Cord Blood

Umbilical cord blood contains stem cells that can be used to treat conditions such as leukemia and sickle cell disease, explains the American Pregnancy Association. In order to bank cord blood, parents must make the decision prior to the onset of...

Who Should Consider Banking Their Child's Cord Blood?

The umbilical cord and placenta were your baby's source of nourishment during pregnancy. After birth, the blood in the cord and placenta are typically discarded. It is possible to collect and store this blood in a cord bank for later use by a...

How to Bank Umbilical Cord Blood

Imagine you are in the labor and deliver ward of your local hospital. Contractions are severe and you eventually push a baby out with all your strength. As the doctor lays the baby on your chest, your husband cuts the umbilical cord. Instead of...

How to Save Cord Blood After Birth

Cord blood is blood that is collected from the umbilical cord and the placenta soon after a baby is born. It contains stem cells that are similar to those found in bone marrow. Cord blood can be used to treat patients who have had chemotherapy or...

How to Save Cord Blood

Cord blood is the blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta attached to newborn babies. Cord blood is rich in stem cells, the cells from which all other cells are made. Stem cells are used in the treatment of some cancers, immune diseases and...

Cord Blood Procedures

Once expectant parents decide to save or donate their baby's cord blood, many are at a loss of what to do next. Although the process of saving or donating cord blood varies, some general procedures are common.

Disadvantages of Saving Umbilical Cord Blood

Private cord blood banks tout the potential advantages of saving cord blood banking to expectant parents, but often skip over the disadvantages of doing so. While the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Congress of Obstetricians and...

Pros & Cons of Cord Blood Storage

Cord blood is stem cell rich blood collected from the umbilical cord after delivery. Because stem cells can grow into many different types of cells, including blood cells, banked cord blood can be used to treat some cancers, anemia and genetic...

Umbilical Cord Blood Storage Procedures

The blood from an infant's umbilical cord and placenta is rich in stem cells, which are cells that have the ability to renew themselves and transform into other types of cells. Collecting your child's cord blood at the time of delivery provides an...

How to Donate Cord Blood for Research

Within the blood of your newborn's umbilical cord and placenta are stem cells. Banking this cord blood can allow for future use as an alternative to bone marrow transplants, the treatment of some cancers, immunodeficiencies, metabolic disorders...

Pros & Cons of Saving Cord Blood

Cord blood, found in the umbilical cord, contains stem cells that can develop into red or white blood cells, platelets or other cell types in the body. Expecting parents are encouraged to save their baby's cord blood so that these stem cells can...

Umbilical Cords in Pregnant Women

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord develops into a flexible tube that functions as a supply line between the fetus and mother. The umbilical cord moves blood back and forth between the fetus and the placenta, which is connected to the mother's...

How to Save Your Baby's Umbilical Cord Blood?

The benefits of cord blood are a fairly recent scientific discovery. Cord blood banking is becoming more common as researchers discover more uses for cord blood. However, the decision to save your baby's cord blood is a personal decision, and the...

How to Save a Baby's Cord Blood

Saving a baby's cord blood is an option every parent has but the decision has to be made before the baby is born. Banked blood can be saved for the future use by the family to treat health conditions, such as childhood cancers, or it can be...

How to Donate a Baby's Cord Blood

Cord blood contains stem cells which, when transplanted into persons with certain diseases, can treat, cure or reduce the symptoms of that disease. If you live in an area with a hospital or banking center that facilitates cord blood donations, you...

How To Preserve Cord Blood

Cord blood is normally discarded after a baby is born. This blood is found inside the umbilical cord that connected mother and baby during pregnancy. Preserving the blood has many potential benefits for the family or for a recipient if the blood...

Are There Any Risks to Donating Cord Blood?

Donating your baby's cord blood to a public cord blood bank can save the life of a child in need. The stem cells in the cord blood can treat a large number of life-threatening illnesses. Occasionally, small or young adults can use these stem cells...

How Is My Baby's Cord Blood Collected?

Cord blood is the blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after a baby is born. This blood contains loads of stem cells---the cells from which all other cells are created. Until the end of the 20th century, this blood was merely...

Books on Infant Development

Newborns may not come with a user's manual, but there are literally hundreds of books on infant development that can provide a little guidance and reassurance. Choosing the right book can be daunting with so many choices, especially when one...

What Will Happen to My Baby's Cord Blood After It's Collected?

When a baby is born, more than one precious thing enters the world. It has been found that the blood in the umbilical cord and placenta has special medical uses. Parents may choose to have the cord blood harvested. They may want the blood reserved...

About Bone Marrow Transplants

Bone marrow is a material found in the bones. Stem cells are the immature cells in bone marrow. These cells can grow into platelets, red blood cells or white blood cells, all of which are necessary for the body to function properly. Bone marrow...

Week by Week Pregnancy Diet

A balanced, wholesome diet is vital for creating and sustaining a healthy pregnancy. It also provides your baby with the nutrients necessary to grow, develop and thrive. Each week of the pregnancy calls for a diet that provides the nutritional...

Mom's Packing List for a Baby Delivery

When packing for the delivery of a baby you must consider many things, including your own comfort and the comfort of your newborn. Some mothers pack the maternity bag during the third trimester or between 32 and 40 weeks into the pregnancy. Other...