During your pregnancy, your umbilical cord serves as a lifeline that helps your baby grow and develop. It's also a precious resource for newborn stem cells that come from cord blood and tissue. After your baby has been delivered, your doctor can collect the remaining blood for future medical use for your family, otherwise it is just thrown away. Learn more about the cord blood benefits and how preserving this precious resource has the possibility of increasing future health options for your baby.
Your baby’s cord blood and tissue is an incredible valuable resource. Cord blood is the blood that is left in the umbilical cord after your baby is born. This blood and tissue contain valuable stem cells. When you decide to bank your baby’s cord blood and tissue, these stem cells are collected after the delivery and cryopreserved in a secure facility in the event your family needs them in the future.
Your baby’s stem cells have powerful healing capabilities. Stem cells work like a “bio-repair kit,” helping to heal and restore tissues, and replenish other cells. A single cell can replicate and become many cell types. Cryogenically freezing your newborn’s stem cells preserves them while they are young and in pure condition, so your family can access them in the future for medical therapies. There are many stem cell preservation benefits because the stem cells in cord blood are unique in many ways:
Stem cells are expanding the possibilities of healthcare. Besides current therapies for cancer and blood diseases, stem cells and cord blood benefits from newborns are being studied for new treatments in regenerative and transplant medicine, including conditions like autism, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, heart defects, and diabetes. With over 80 diseases currently being treated and more being studied every day, banking your newborn’s stem cells can open doors to a world of new possibilities.
Your baby’s umbilical cord is a life-sustaining connection between you and your baby. Umbilical cord blood has benefits that extend beyond the time your baby is born, the power of that connection can play a role in healing. Today more than 50,000 stem cell transplants are performed each year worldwide to treat some of the following diseases:
Number of treatable diseases:
Stem cell science has the potential to make a lasting impact on your family. What we know about stem cells continues to evolve, with each discovery fueling research into new applications. These trials represent a new, exciting age in umbilical cord blood and umbilical tissue research. There are a number of experimental therapies that may not have seemed possible 15 years ago which are being explored today in regulated clinical trials. These include: