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Benefits of cord blood stem cell collection and storage
The miracle of cord blood - why families are storing.
Using cord blood stem cells to treat life-threatening diseases is not a distant possibility...it's happening today. In fact, cord blood stem cells have been used to successfully treat more than 40 diseases including various forms of cancer and blood or immune system disorders.
Cord blood stem cells are not embryonic stem cells or derived from embryos. They are collected from a baby's umbilical cord with no risk of harm to mother or child and they are improving health and saving lives.
Master cells for life: An insurance policy for your entire family.
Storing a child's cord blood stem cells is an investment in the whole family's health. These cells are guaranteed to be a perfect biological match for the child and are likely to be a match for siblings, parents, and grandparents. With private stem cell banks, families are assured these cells will be available only to your family. Families across the country are enthusiastically embracing cord blood collection and storage to help promote the long-term health and well-being of their entire family.
As people learn more about the growing scientific evidence pointing to the therapeutic potential of stem cells, an increasing number of families are electing to store their children's cord blood as a "biological insurance policy" should these cells be needed by family members in the future.
Storing your child's cord blood is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure that this resource is available to your entire family. These cells will be available to your family - and your family alone - for as long as you might need them.
Lifesaving potential for your entire family.
Families are storing their children's cord blood because stem cells are already treating a variety of life-threatening diseases using today's science.
Families are also storing their children's cord blood because of the future potential of stem cell therapies. Cell therapies are considered by many physicians and researchers to be the future of medicine. Scientists are currently researching stem cell therapies for indications that include:
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Alzheimer's
- Multiple sclerosis
- Spinal cord injury
There are limits.
Cord blood stem cell banking is often compared to an insurance policy. Unlike an insurance policy, however, we cannot guarantee that umbilical cord blood storage will assist you with the health problems your family suffers from down the road. While the potential uses for cord blood cells are rapidly expanding, the odds that a family without a defined risk will need to use their child's umbilical cord blood are low. There is no guarantee that the umbilical cord blood will be a match for a family member or will provide a cure. Autologous cord blood stem cells will not guarantee suitable treatment for all inherited genetic diseases. As with any transplant therapy, therapeutic success depends upon many factors beyond the stem cells themselves including patient condition, type of disease, recipient-donor relationship and matching, and other factors.
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