Parents must donate newborn cord blood

January 25, 9:56 PMChicago Parenting ExaminerJanelle Lanter Brown

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After birth, the umbilical cord and placenta are usually discarded as waste. But, the umbilical cord holds something extremely precious—stem cells. These stem cells have become standard therapy for serious diseases such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and other immune system diseases (1). These stem cells are valuable because of their ability to develop into almost any type of cell in the body.

Parents have two cord blood banking options. The first option is preserving your child’s stem cells in a private bank so the cells are available for the family’s personal use. The initial fees range between $1000-$3000. There are also yearly storage fees. It is important that parents check to make sure the bank they use is approved by either The American Association of Blood Banking or the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy.

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To read a story in Chicago Parent about cord blood banking click below.http://chicagoparent.com/article.asp?aID=45694733.4463465.69784.1391522.2779592.647&aID2=5359