Cord Blood Banking Myths

Cord blood banking is a relatively new trend in comparison to other medical technologies that individuals take advantage of. It is gaining popularity day by day as more and more people become informed about it. However, there are still a large number of widely-held misconceptions by the general public. A greater understanding of cord blood banking will help more people make informed decisions that will have a tremendous impact on their lives. Below you will be able to read about some of the biggest and most common myths surrounding cord blood banking today.

Myth 1 - Doctors can't use a patient's own cord blood for treatment because it would contain the disease that they are trying to treat. The patient would not benefit and might even get sicker.

Fact - Transplants where the individual's own stem cells are used are called autologous transplants. These autologous transplants are done all of the time and have been shown to be quite effective in treating conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other kinds of solid tumors. Actually, the individual's own stem cells are the most effective, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study shows that even in cases where the disease began early in childhood, an individual's own stem cells are preferable to those of an anonymous donor.

Actually, infants and small children who were treated using their own stem cells showed a higher recovery rate than those who were given others according to the Cord Blood Banking Organization. The biggest risk to transplant patients (and the leading cause of death) is that of the body reacting badly to another person's blood because the two types of blood are incompatible with one another. By using an individual's own stem cells, this risk is removed and the dangers are significantly lower causing less risk to the patient. There also is a much lower chance that the cells will become contaminated as they might when using donor cells that have typically been handled by more people then using the individual's own stem cells.

According to the Journal of Clinical Oncology, there was a past case in Canada where doctors treated a 10-month old infant who had a type of cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma by doing an autologous transplant. The risk to the infant was less then it would've been had the transplant been done with a donor material.

Myth 2 - If there isn't any cancer in your family, your child or relative will never need a stem cell transplant. It is a waste of money because the offspring will never benefit from any type of stem cell transplant. Genetics play the biggest role in cancer and if you don't have it in your family, then this is not something you need to worry yourself about.

Fact - You can think of cord blood banking as a kind of insurance policy or backup feature for your future. By storing and preserving your newborn's umbilical cord blood, you are indeed making sure that it will be there in the future in case anyone needs it. The bad news about cancer is that we really don't understand where it comes from, or whether genetic or environmental factors are more important. There is much debate if it's genetic or environment or perhaps a combination of both. It is sad to say but you shouldn't feel safe from cancer because it isn't in the family.

Even more bad news about cancer: there are always new ones that are emmergin and they are constantly spreading. Every year there are more incidents of cancer. According to the Cord Blood Banking Organization, a new study has found that out of approximately 630 babies, one of these infants will unfortunately develop some form of cancer before they are 15 years old. It's a scary picture when you think about it, but the purpose isn't to shock. The point is that saving umbilical cord blood may mean saving the life of your offspring in the future even if you don't have a history of cancer in your family background.

Myth 3 - Taking cord blood from the newborn deprives it of blood it needs. You are needlessly putting the newborn at risk by doing this type of blood banking.

Fact - This is not the case at all. After the newborn is delivered in the hospital, the umbilical cord is usually just thrown away without a thought by anyone. When you choose to save your infant's cord blood, the umbilical cord is compressed together and severed, and the blood that would otherwise go to waste is drawn out and saved. This is the blood that cord blood bank will store in case it is needed in the future.

Myth 4 - You can donate your baby's cord blood to a blood bank and it will always be there for you if you need it again.

Fact - If you donate your cord blood to a bank, it will most likely be used for another individual who needs it. Actually, not all cord blood is even put into a bank. In many cases, it is used for conducting research, in order to find out more about how stem cells work and their benefits.

In fact, as much as 50 percent of all donated cord blood is rejected by the banks because of family health risks, low stem cell quality, or simply because they already have more than they need. If the blood you donate qualifies for acceptance, you need to make sure that it is going to be stored in a cord blood bank. If you want the blood specifically for your family, you should not do a public cord blood donation but specifically set up things with a cord blood bank.

Still, there is a slight chance that donated cord blood can be retrieved again to the same family. But, in general, if you give it away, you can expect it to be used elsewhere. Know the facts about cord blood donation, and you can make the right decision when the time comes.