Cord Blood Donation
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Related Keywords : Cord Blood Donation Questions, Cord Blood Banking, Donating Cord Blood, Cord Blood Donation Website, Donate Umbilical Cord Blood, Umbilical Cord Stem Cells, Stem Cell Donation
Umbilical cord blood, and the life saving stem cells it contains, has become a hotly debated topic involving laymen, medical professionals, and politicians alike. As parents make the decision to bank their newborn child?s umbilical cord blood, resources for stem cells become more available. Along with cord blood banking facilities, cord blood registry options have become available for individuals considering cord blood donation.
The life saving stem cells found in human bone marrow have been used for years to treat diseases such as Leukemia, Lymphoma, Anemia, and Hodgkin?s disease, in addition to inherited diseases like Sickle Cell Disease and Tay Sachs Disease. Stem cells are have been successfully used to treat more than 45 different types of diseases! These cells are viable for research and treatment purposes, but there is a stark difference between the stem cells harvested from human bone marrow and the stem cells found in embryonic and fetal sources. The stem cells that are harvested from embryonic and fetal stem cell sources contain what are known as ?young? stem cells. Compared to the stem cells that are harvested from bone marrow, called ?adult? stem cells, embryonic and fetal stem cells are known to possess qualities that enable them to adapt and change more easily. The difference between the two has elicited much excitement in the realm of medical research. The only way to access cord blood stem cells is through cord blood donation.
Like the marrow donor registry or the organ donor registry, the cord blood donation registry provides medical treatment resources for individuals in need of a transplant of stem cells that are found in umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are often preferred for transplant because they are ?young?. The adult stem cells that are found in bone marrow are less likely to adapt to their new host. The last few years have seen the medical community launching campaigns to educate individuals as to the importance of donor registries. Foremost have been campaigns for bone marrow donors and organ donors. Less noticeable have been campaigns for cord blood donations, perhaps because of the controversy surrounding the use of human stem cells for medical treatment and research. Individuals who are interested in the possible donation of bone marrow and/or vital organs have been encouraged to register their desire to do so with the appropriate organization. Sports stars, television and big screen celebrities, and other high-profile celebrities have all been highly visible in the push to recruit marrow and organ donors.
The cord blood donation registry, like the marrow donor registry and organ donor registry, lists the specifics on available cord blood donations. It has been estimated that as many as 70% of the individuals in need of a stem cell transplant will never be able to find a matching donor. Because the pool of available donors greatly increases with the use of stem cells found in umbilical cord blood, the cord blood donation registry is an invaluable tool.
Minorities are currently the most underrepresented group in blood product donations. Individuals of African American, Hispanic, Asian or Indian descent have the most difficulty finding a match for stem cell transplants and may never find an appropriate match. Most of the donor samples currently listed on the cord blood donation registry are samples from donors of Caucasian descent. When an ideal match cannot be found for an individual who is in need of a transplant, the closest match may be used ? depending upon how close that match may be. The closer the match, the less the likelihood of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). Graft Versus Host Disease occurs when the body of the host (the individual needing the transplant) rejects the donor sample. This disease is life threatening. Graft Versus Host Disease occurs when the transplant product is bone marrow, organ donation, or cord blood stem cells. However, as previously discussed, the immature stem cells found in cord blood donations are less likely to be rejected. Because of this, many more minority donors need to be recruited so that minority patients can be assured of the best medical treatment options. Additionally, because the stem cells found in bone marrow and umbilical cord blood are used to treat genetic disorders such as Tay Sachs Disease and Sickle Cell Anemia, the cord blood registry needs to include an adequate number of registered donor samples to provide the closest available match. Parents of minority children may wish to consider, not only cord blood banking for their children, but donating cord blood samples to be listed on the cord blood registry to provide suitable transplant products for other minority individuals.
The high-profile donor drives mentioned above have been launched specifically for the purpose of increasing the number of available minority samples of cord blood donations. Still, the list is ruefully short. Additionally, the donor drives mentioned above are usually for the specific purpose of generating donor samples for the marrow donor registry and the organ donor registry. The cord blood registry remains an obscure topic which is in dire need of equal time and discussion. Since the immature stem cells found in cord blood can be used, often in cases where other stem cell resources fail, the public needs to be made aware of the precious resource found in what has previously been mere medical waste ? umbilical cord blood. Via the simple, non-invasive procedure of cord blood collection that occurs after the delivery of a newborn child, life-saving samples can be added to the cord blood registry. Ideally, at some point in the future, all umbilical cords will be banked and listed on the cord blood registry to provide successful treatment for countless individuals who may otherwise never find the life-saving treatment they require.
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