Health
Is cord blood banking a worthwhile investment in your child’s future?
The umbilical cord — the lifeline between mother and baby — was historically discarded as medical waste after birth.
Today, an increasing number of parents are choosing to preserve the cord blood for its potential to safeguard their child’s future health.
The birth of a baby comes with an overwhelming number of decisions, one of which is whether to bank the newborn’s cord blood cells.
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Whether cord blood banking is worth it for a family hinges on various factors, including the present health of their child, the existence of twins in the family and many other individual considerations.
What is cord blood banking?
Cord blood banking involves the collection and storage of stem cells derived from the blood of a newborn’s umbilical cord immediately after birth.
The reason is its potential life-saving abilities, as the hematopoietic stem cells found in cord blood have the unique ability to differentiate into various types of blood cells.
There are two main types of banks for cord blood: public and private. (BSIP/UIG)
Preserving the cord blood cells provides an option for future therapeutic use in treating a range of diseases for the child or siblings.
These stem cells are less likely to face rejection during transplant due to their immature nature. This widens the blood cells’ applicability in medical procedures for the donor or family members.
Cord blood banking process
Cord blood banking can be done from either a vaginal or surgical birth, and regardless of whether the labor was induced or occurred naturally.
Once the parents decide to store the blood, the doctor will clamp the umbilical cord in two places and cut the cord, separating the mother from the child.
Once the blood has been collected and sealed, it will be sent to a cord blood bank for storage.
The doctor will inject a needle into the cord and collect, in general, between 60 and 300 milliliters (mL) of cord blood. The collected volume can vary, however, and not all collections will be sufficient for future therapeutic use for the child or siblings.
Once the blood has been collected and sealed, it will be sent to a cord blood bank for storage.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates cord blood banking and donation. (Education Images/Universal Images Group )
Collecting fluid in this process is relatively easy and does not cause pain to the mother or baby, according to webmd.com.
The collection process generally takes around five minutes to complete.
The blood can be stored at several different sites, based on the family’s decisions and circumstances.
- Public cord banks. These are free to use, but donations made are available to anyone.
- Private cord banks. These blood banks will store the blood for use only by the donor and family members of the donor. This can be an expensive option as there is a processing fee and an annual storage fee.
- Direct-donation banks. These are a mixture of public and private banks. They store cord blood for public use but also accept donations to reserve the stem cells for the child.
Cord blood is collected immediately after birth in a painless process that does not harm the mother or the baby. (BSIP/Universal Images Group)
When discussing the options, cord blood banking often refers to private banking, while cord blood donation generally refers to public banking.
Private cord banking may not be worth the financial expense for the family, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The reason is that the price is steep for the chance that the child will need to use the blood at some point in time.
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These organizations suggest that routine storage of cord blood for stem cells as a sort of insurance is unproven, and therefore they caution parents when considering it.
Donating to a public storage bank could benefit the community, however, according to these organizations.
There is usually no cost to donate cord blood to a public bank, but private banking can be pricey, involving initial collection fees and annual storage fees. (BSIP/UIG)
What are the uses of cord blood banking?
Cord blood banking can be beneficial because the stem cells are hematopoietic stem cells, meaning they are immature but can become mature cells of different types within the body.
Not only do they require less matching, they also cause fewer infections.
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The stem cells within the umbilical cord can provide life-saving assistance for several conditions later in life.
Stem cells from the umbilical cord can treat a variety of conditions, including:
- Cancer
- Anemia
- Immune system disorders
Once the cord blood is collected and stored, it can remain viable for a long time. Research suggests that cord blood can be stored for at least 10 years but often much longer. (QAI Publishing/Universal Images Group )
A benefit of using cord blood stem cells is that they rarely result in infectious diseases.
They are also highly effective as they are half as likely to be rejected compared to other stem cells because they are immunogenic due to their immature nature.
What are the cons of cord blood banking?
There is only about an 8% usage rate of blood that has been stored through this process, according to a study cited by the National Library of Medicine.
Part of the reason for the low rate is that the blood is not always useful for a disease that develops later on in life.
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Many factors go into whether cord blood can be used, such as from a set of twins when one twin is healthy and the other is born with a genetic disorder.
The blood drawn from the ill child can not be used later on for the healthy child, but the reverse could be true if the blood is a good match.
Patients are more likely to find a genetic match among donors of their own ethnic background. (BSIP/Universal Images Group)
There are many circumstances that the American Academy of Pediatrics lays out as not ideal conditions for cord blood banking.
Identical twins are not often the best match for each other because a slight genetic difference in the blood cells is recommended.
Additionally, public blood banks can only accept donations from umbilical cords from a mother carrying a single child. This is due to the possibility that the blood units could get mixed up during the collection with twins.
Another downside of using cord blood cells is that it takes longer for them to create the therapeutic effect desired because they are hematopoietic stem cells.
How much does cord blood banking cost?
Typically, there are two separate fees involved when preserving a child’s cord blood cells, according to the American Pregnancy Association. The initial fee covers the enrollment and collection.
Then, there is an annual storage fee.
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Those who go this route can expect to pay in the range of $1,350 and $2,350 for the initial collection, testing and registering, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Annual storage fees often range from $100 to $175, but the costs of individual storage banks will vary.
Currently, research into cord blood stem cells is ongoing. Scientists are investigating the potential for treating conditions such as cerebral palsy and Type 1 diabetes. (iStock)
If the parents donate the blood cells from the umbilical cord, there is no cost.
The future of cord blood banking
The future trajectory of cord blood banking remains uncertain. Nonetheless, preserving cord blood cells today may have significant health benefits, offering new avenues for disease treatment as the field advances.
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Considering the first successful umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant was performed as recently as 1988, as documented by the National Library of Medicine, the science around this practice is relatively young.
With ongoing research, the scope and efficacy of cord blood use are bound to expand.
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Cutting two simple things from her diet helped Melissa Joan Hart shed nearly 20 pounds, she revealed in a recent interview.
The actress, best known for her roles in “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” lost about 18 pounds after cutting sugar and alcohol as part of what she described as a “longevity journey,” she told People earlier this month.
“I just wanted to feel better. It had nothing to do with losing weight,” Hart, 49, said at Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s Grammy viewing party Feb. 1 in Los Angeles.
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“I really didn’t think I could lose weight anymore, being in midlife and perimenopause.”
Hart shared details of her weight loss while attending Steven Tyler’s Grammy viewing party. (Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)
Weight gain during perimenopause and menopause is common, according to the Mayo Clinic, as hormonal changes, aging and lifestyle factors slow metabolism and shift fat toward the belly. But staying active, maintaining a healthy diet, limiting added sugars and alcohol and prioritizing sleep can help minimize weight gain in midlife, experts say.
Hart said her main focus was on improving how she felt, and it has worked.
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“I actually feel stronger and better than I have in a really long time,” she said.
Melissa Joan Hart says cutting sugar and alcohol helped her lose nearly 20 pounds. (Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Janie’s Fund)
Hart said it began by working out more intensely and paying closer attention to her lifestyle. In the process, she discovered intermittent fasting and decided to eliminate sugar and alcohol.
She added that giving up alcohol was an easy decision.
“I just don’t even enjoy drinking. So why bother?” Hart said. “So, I cut these things out of my life, and I started to feel better. And in doing that, I lost a lot of weight and kind of feel great.”
Cutting back on added sugar and alcohol can reduce excess calorie intake and lower the risk of weight gain, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, liver damage and certain cancers, while supporting better overall metabolic health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The actress said she began working out more intensely and paying closer attention to her lifestyle. (Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty Images)
Hart also shared that staying hydrated has been a challenge for her over the years, joking that her husband, musician Mark Wilkerson, notices her dislike for drinking water.
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“My husband says when I drink a glass of water, I make a face like it’s the most disgusting thing on earth,” she said. “I’m sipping on it, like, ‘Eww.’”
Hart, seen above in St. Lucia in 2024, said she “just wanted to feel better.” (John Parra/Getty Images for Sandals Resorts)
Instead, the mom of three said she often reaches for club soda with lime or tea.
“I’ll do hot tea, cold tea, green tea, peppermint tea — any kind of tea,” she said.
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Hart, who turns 50 in April, joins other celebrities who have recently credited cutting alcohol and other lifestyle changes for improved health and weight loss, according to reports.
More celebrities say they are cutting back on alcohol and sugar. (iStock)
Last year, Russell Crowe said cutting back on alcohol played a major role in his 57-pound transformation, and “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness has also spoken out about cutting down on booze and focusing on overall health.
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Country singer Jelly Roll has credited long-term wellness and mental health support for his dramatic weight loss, while Matt Damon recently said cutting certain foods, including gluten, helped him slim down for film roles.
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Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of what may be the world’s first surgery: a Viking-age human skull with a portion removed.
The remains, belonging to a man between 17 and 24 years old, feature an oval hole roughly 3 centimeters in diameter. Experts believe the man lived during the ninth century, according to reporting by SWNS.
The man likely underwent trepanation, an ancient surgical procedure where a hole is bored into a living person’s skull to treat conditions like migraines or seizures.
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University of Cambridge students discovered the remains last year during a training dig at the Wandlebury Iron Age hill fort.
The discovery is notable not just for the surgery, but for the man’s physical stature. Standing 6 feet, 5 inches tall, he towered over the average male of the era, who typically stood 5 feet, 6 inches, per SWNS.
The mass grave was discovered at the Iron Age hill fort in Wandlebury. (Cambridge Archaeological Unit/Da / SWNS)
“The individual may have had a tumor that affected their pituitary gland and caused an excess of growth hormones,” said Dr. Trish Biers, curator of the Duckworth Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, in the report.
“We can see this in the unique characteristics in the long shafts of their limb bones and elsewhere on the skeleton.”
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Biers noted that such a condition would have increased intracranial pressure and caused severe headaches. The trepanation was likely an attempt to alleviate that pain, a goal that is “not uncommon with head trauma today.”
A skull was discovered with a hole in it at the Iron Age hill fort in Wandlebury. (Cambridge Archaeological Unit/Da / SWNS)
A puzzling burial site
The burial site itself presented a grim mystery. The mass grave contained a mix of complete and dismembered bodies, including a cluster of skulls and what researchers described as a “stack of legs.”
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Four complete skeletons were unearthed, some in positions suggesting that they had been tied up.
Four complete skeletons were unearthed, some in positions suggesting that they had been tied up. (Cambridge Archaeological Unit/Da / SWNS)
Most appeared to be young men thrown into the pit without care, leading archaeologists to suspect that the site marks the aftermath of a skirmish, battle or mass execution.
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“Those buried could have been recipients of corporal punishment, and that may be connected to Wandlebury as a sacred or well-known meeting place,” Oscar Aldred of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit told SWNS.
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“It may be that some of the disarticulated body parts had previously been displayed as trophies and were then gathered up and interred with the executed or otherwise slaughtered individuals.”
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