Originally posted by dumbger
well, we all know the main benefit of banking bb's cord blood:
1) if bb contracts disease/illness in future, can harvest the stem cells from the umblical cord to treat the disease. cord blood can treat almost abt 50 known kinds of diseases and disorders. no need to scamper around looking for a donor as it is in ur easy reach.
2) use of cord blood is more safe than a bone marrow transplant due to higher compatibility. (ur own blood mah)
but the cons:
1. $$$ (of cos)
2. likelihood to use it very slim:
a) studies hav shown approx 1 in 20,000 cases need the cord blood.
b) likelihood to use the cord blood increase if u hav genetic problems, hereditary illnesses, or are a minority race in the country. but both my hubby and my family has no known family diseases that may be inherited by my bb.
c) the amt of blood in the umblical cord is enough to treat a person who weighs 100 pounds at the very most (about 45kg). 100 pounds is jus a guide, may be more or less. so it means by the time my son is a teenager (estimate, provided he dun grow too fat), the amt of blood in the cord is not enough for him liao.
3. blood in the umblical cord is not proven to be 100% safe yet. if my bb contracts a particular disease in his later years, there is a possibility that the diseased blood cells are already in the blood of the umblical cord, hence rendering the cord blood useless.
4. As the technology of using the stem cells of ur bb's own cord blood is still new, there has been too little experience by doctors. there's no guarantee that after bb hav received his own stem cells would not be prone to a repeat of the same disease again. (though still not proved as of yet).
5. storing of cord blood requires the doc to clamp down the umbilical cord at time of birth. if clamp too soon, though the amount of collected blood is more, it could cause bb to have a lower blood volume and maybe anemia soon after birth. This risk is low, but it does exist. not that i dun trust my gynae but hey...u know, safe than sorry.
these are the reasons that i know of. may be more? i rather donate my bb's cord blood into a public bank like http://www.scbb.com.sg/]The Singapore Cord Blood Bank[/URL] where any needy bb/child can use it (if it's compatible) and vice versa for my own bb. it's not jus singaporeans, but the public bank can tap onto an international network of public cord blood bank, receiving cord blood from babies all over the world to find a perfect match.