Do Nothing with the Cord Blood
Parents can always opt to do nothing with their baby’s cord blood. The benefits to this decision are that its easy, there is nothing to arrange prior to birth, and the parents do not have to remind anybody about what to do with the baby’s umbilical cord or remember to bring any special kits to the hospital.
Bank the Cord Blood
Banking cord blood is done when parents pay a cord blood company to store their child’s cord blood for possible future use. According to the National Cord Blood Program, cord blood has been used to treat a variety of diseases including different types of leukemia, lymphomas, immune system disorders, and anemia. As with the use of any body material used to treat a condition, the chances of success are most likely if the donor is an exact match with the receiver, so according to certain popular cord blood banking companies, many parents choose to bank their own child’s cord blood in case the child, themselves, or a sibling may need the blood in the future. Advantages to this choice are obvious: if your child or a close family member ever suffers from a disease that can be treated with cord blood, there is access to a highly viable donor for this treatment. Disadvantages are that it is costly and the cord blood that is banked may never be used.
Donate the Cord Blood
Many donation centers can be found through the National Cord Blood Program. These centers specialize in collecting and storing donated cord blood, similar to the process of collecting and storing regular blood, to be used for donor matches. Signing up to donate cord blood is simple and can be done by contacting a local cord blood donation company and providing some basic information about the intended location of the birth and the health of the baby and mother. The main advantage to this choice is that the cord blood will be used to help treat somebody who needs the blood (the cord blood will not be wasted). A disadvantage is that the cord blood will not be available to the family if it is needed for some reason in the future.
Allow Research to Use the Cord Blood
If a mother is giving birth at a research hospital, there may exist some research studies requiring the use of the cord blood. If parents are interested in contributing to the research field, this may be a viable option for cord blood use. Advantages are that the cord blood will be useful in furthering knowledge and treatment of many serious medical conditions. Disadvantages are that the cord blood will not be used in direct treatment of certain medical conditions. Simply remember, however, that cord blood would not have the vast amount of uses it has today without this type of research.
Delay Cord Clamping
Delaying cord clamping has recently been gaining notoriety. According to Science Daily, recent research has indicated that delaying the clamping of the cord blood for two to three minutes can help prevent babies from suffering from iron deficiency during their first six months of life. This can be especially important for children of mothers who suffer from anemia or who have issues with access to adequate health care and nutrition. The benefits of this approach are the possibility of offering the baby extra protection from anemia early on in life. Problems with this approach are, if the decision is made to delay cord blood clamping, there may not be enough cord blood remaining to donate or to store if the parents are also interested in these options.
For parents, deciding how to handle their child’s cord blood may be a difficult or easy decision. When attempting to make the decision, it is a good idea for parents to talk over these different options with their healthcare provider and discuss issues such as the likelihood that the baby or a close family member will develop a certain disease that can be treated with cord blood, the benefits of certain research projects that are being conducted locally with cord blood, the health benefits and risks related to delayed clamping of the umbilical cord, and the local need for cord blood.
