Mommy Mommy - Part 4 - Cord Blood Banking: The Problems

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Part 4 - Cord Blood Banking: The Problems

It sounds like a wonderful way to give something to someone that really is in need of it. Donating cord blood is an amazing act of kindness. First off, not everyone can afford to pay for their own banking of the cord blood but few people realize the benefit of giving it away at this point. If your child can not benefit from it, it is likely that someone else may be able to do so. Yet, there are problems with public cord banking. Even as the demand for stem cells increases, and the many ways that they can repair someone’s life increase, there are just a handful of public cord blood donation banks that are available.

This sad fact comes with the realization that there are just too few hospitals and groups that can afford to manage a facility like this. There are many costly elements to realize here from the cryogenic process to the cost of housing the stem cells indefinitely. There are tests that must be run to insure that the cells are healthy and there are so few funds to be able to take care of these facilities. The fact is that there are only a handful of donation banks in the US that are capable and located where they can collect public cord blood successfully.

If you are considering donating your child’s cord blood to a public facility, you will need to first locate a local bank to do this with. The fact is that there are plenty of locations that offer private and therefore costly cord blood banks, yet too few public options. Yet, there are plenty of reasons why the need for cord blood keeps growing. To find a location near you, use the American Association of Blood Banks to help you to find them.

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