There’s a lot to think about when you’re getting ready for a baby, but here’s something else to add to the list: Should you save your baby’s umbilical cord blood?
Under a new state law, your doctor or health care facility must give you information on cord blood donation and banking and allow you to make arrangements for donation. But what exactly is cord blood, and what can it do?
Cord blood is the blood that stays in the umbilical cord and placenta after an infant is born. It contains stem cells, which can help treat diseases such as leukemia, sickle cell disease, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and thalassemia.
Cord blood used to be thrown away but now it can be donated or saved in banks.
You can donate the cord blood to a public bank, where it will be used for research or given to anyone who needs it.
You also can pay a private cord blood bank to store it to treat an ill family member. Doctors recommend that you only preserve cord blood in a private bank if a family member already has a disease that can be treated with cord blood.
If you want cord blood collected, you must request it ahead of your delivery date. After the baby is born, the staff will draw cord blood from the umbilical cord and placenta after the cord has been clamped and cut. It will be placed in a special container, sent to the cord blood bank, and frozen.
For more information, talk to your doctor or visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.