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Doctors will at time recommend their patients diagnosed with blood conditions or disorders for a blood cell transplant. There are several possibilities to transplant blood forming cells into a patient in need, but there are two options that are most recommended by doctors – through umbilical cord blood or bone marrow.
For many years, bone marrow was the accepted method of transplanting blood forming stem cells. But in recent years clinical research discovered that cord blood, blood found within the umbilical cord following the birth of a baby, is a very rich source of hematopoietic stem cells.
These cord blood stem cells are made viable for a transplant later in life through the process known as cord blood banking. Families can opt to bank their own baby’s cord blood or choose to donate a sample to a donor banking facility to potentially help other patients in need of therapy.
Prior to settling on a blood cell transplant option for their patients, doctors consider a number of potential factors. Cord blood will often be considered a viable option as:
· Cord blood does not require as strong as a genetic match between donor and recipient as bone marrow
· This particularly benefits patients relying on donor cord blood therapy
· Unlike bone marrow, cord blood is banked at birth, and is readily available when necessary
· Families who bank their own children’s cord blood can access the sample more readily than donor patients
· Patients are less likely to experience GVHD, a common transplant complication, from cord blood therapy
Clinical trials are being conducted around the world to uncover new potential benefits of cord blood therapy, while hospitals increasingly recommend cord blood banking to expecting parents.
