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As a parent, we want to protect our children as much as possible from what life throws at us over the years. And even as our babies grow up into adults, that feeling never truly goes away.
To put their minds at ease, an increasing number of parents are choosing to collect and store their baby’s stem cells as part of an important step towards protecting their health for years to come.
What many parents don’t know is that when their baby is born, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure the most powerful stem cells they will ever have access to. Both the umbilical cord and the placenta are rich in these amazing stem cells which could be key to unlocking the next generation of medical therapies.
But what are stem cells and how can they protect your child’s long-term health?
The best way to understand stem cells is to think of them as the ‘building blocks of life’. From the minute we begin to grow inside the womb, to when we are born, and all the way throughout our life, stem cells are the foundations of all of our organs, tissues, blood and even the immune system.
Human beings develop from stem cells and they continue to support us as we age. But what makes stem cells so unique is the fact they are undifferentiated. What does this mean? This basically means they have the ability to become a wide variety of different cell types within the human body.
From blood cells to skin cells, to nerve cells; stem cells are able to transform into any type of cell that your body needs – making them an extremely valuable resource in treating an array of different medical conditions.
Researchers are continuously working with stem cells to unlock the future of medicine. For many years, doctors have used them to find ways to treat previously untreatable diseases. Today, they are used for neurological disorders, heart disease, blood cancers, bone injuries – just to name a few!
And what’s amazing is that parents have direct access to this precious medical resource in the moments after their little one is welcomed to the world. That’s the power of stem cell banking. Parents can collect and store these stem cells through cord blood and placenta banking.
Your baby’s umbilical cord is rich in powerful stem cells. In fact, it contains not millions, but billions of these tiny but mighty stem cells, which could one day be used for stem cell treatments, if and when your child needs it.
The process of cord blood banking is really simple. It involves extracting the residual blood from the umbilical cord and freezing it for the future exclusive use of the baby and their family. Most importantly, it doesn’t interrupt the bonding process between mum and baby, which of course is vital.
Cord blood is already routinely used to treat over 80 different conditions and diseases, from leukaemia to neuroblastoma to hurler syndrome. It is also now being used in clinical trials across the world to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s, hearing loss, diabetes and many, many, more.
Could this perhaps be the ultimate insurance policy for your child into old age?
When it comes to stem cell treatments, the motto is “the more cells, the better”. The greater number and types of cells your child has access to, the more access to treatment opportunities they will have. And that’s not just today – but for the rest of their life!
Much like the umbilical cord, the placenta is rich in cells which are also being used to push the boundaries of conventional medicine. The cells found within the placenta are different to those in umbilical cord blood, and so they can treat an even wider range of conditions!
In fact, the amniotic membrane from the placenta (the thin sheet that acts as the sac of the placenta) has been used for over 100 years to treat serious burns, wounds and eye conditions. Cells from the placenta are now being investigated in therapies for type 2 diabetes and even COVID-19!
That’s the big question. Ultimately, the choice is up to you and what is best for you and your family – and that’s the most important thing.
The good news is that if you want to do both, you can! One cord blood bank in the UK wanted to provide parents with the ultimate protection for their family. Cells4Life are the UK’s only stem cell bank to offer placenta banking AND cord blood banking.
That means you can choose both placenta and cord blood banking to maximise the treatment possibilities of your baby’s stem cells if they should ever need them.
If you are interested in discovering the full potential of stem cell banking, make sure to check out cells4life.com.
This is a collaborative post.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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