Dr. Navtej Kohli shares views on Cord Blood Banking
Cord blood banking: is it really necessary?
One of the most important decisions a couple faces in their lifetime is whether or not to go the family way. For every expecting parent, the task doesn’t end here as having a child means bearing a huge responsibility. Pre-, ante- and postnatal care, deciding upon a name, choosing a gynecologist and later on a pediatrician, breastfeeding vs. formula feeding issues, etc. are some of the common concerns. With the advent of latest medical facilities and advancement, mortality rate has dropped to a large extent. One such facility is cord blood banking.
From advertisements in parenting magazines, direct mailings, and flyers in their obstetrician's office, expecting parents are repeatedly reminded of their 'once-in-a-lifetime chance' to save their baby's umbilical cord blood for possible use later to save his life. Discarded as a biological waste after childbirth, the baby’s umbilical cord is actually a storehouse of stem cells. Umbilical cord blood stem cells can be used in transplants to treat a variety of pediatric disorders including leukemia, sickle cell disease, and metabolic disorders. When in need of a cord blood transplant, one can search for a match with a sibling or from an unrelated person.
Done through a simple procedure, it doesn't hurt either the newborn or the mother. Taking into consideration that storing stem cells is like having biological insurance for the baby, which parent wouldn't want to invest in it? But the issue isn't really with cord blood banking, which every parent is likely to try. The concern here is more about banking blood in a for-profit private cord blood bank for a family's own use. As an alternative, parents can donate their baby's umbilical cord blood in a public bank for free.
Although money shouldn't be a factor when it comes to saving a child's life, one of the biggest arguments against private cord blood banking is that it is just too expensive for many families. Moreover, cord-blood banking isn't routine in hospital or home deliveries - it's a procedure you may or may not choose. The primary reason that parents consider banking their newborn's cord blood is because they have a child or close relative with or a family medical history of diseases that can be treated with bone marrow transplants. The odds of a baby without risk factors using his or her own banked cord blood is rather low, however, no accurate estimates exist at this time.
Stem cell banking, as discussed above, is considered to be a biological insurance. But many skeptics are of the view that unlike insurance, many of the cord blood banking initiatives are more like a gamble. Insurance is there to provide a certain benefit given an uncertain future. Stem cell banking is providing an uncertain benefit combined with an uncertain future. It is entirely an individual’s decision, albeit it isn’t a necessity.