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Why is Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells preferred over Bone Marrow Stem Cells?

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hervey allen
Why is Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells preferred over Bone Marrow Stem Cells?

For the past few decades, advances in umbilical cord blood technology have made cord blood transplants a viable alternative to the traditional bone marrow transplants in patients that require a stem cell transplant. While bone marrow transplant continues to be a more common procedure, evidence suggests that this trend is changing. The reason behind this is the benefits of cord blood offers. Many Cryobanks international and health care advisors suggest expectant parents to go for cord blood banking and safeguard there baby’s future. Let’s see what cord blood & bone marrow transplants are, and why cord blood stem cells are preferred.

What are Cord Blood and Bone Marrow Transplants?

Both bone marrow & umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants are done in order to replace the unhealthy cells with healthy ones.

In a bone marrow transplant, as the name says, bone marrow is used for transplant from a donor into a recipient to cultivate new stem cells. Bone marrow is a spongy tissue which is located inside the bones. Most commonly, bone marrow is extracted from the skull, breastbone, hips, ribs or spine, as these parts contain stem cells which produce white blood cells (leukocytes) that have the capability to fight against infection; red blood cells (erythrocytes), which carry oxygen to eliminate waste from the organs & tissue; and platelets that are responsible for making the blood clot. Bone marrow is typically removed from the donor under a general anesthetic. It is then filtered, treated, and either transplanted immediately into the recipient, or sometimes tested, frozen, and stored for later use.

Cord blood, on the other hand, is collected from a newborn’s umbilical cord after the baby’s delivery, and it is then tested, frozen, and subsequently stored in a cord blood bank for future use.

Why is a collection of Cord Blood Stem Cells preferred over Bone Marrow Stem Cells?

  • Cord blood stem cells can be given to more people than the ones taken from bone marrow. In cord blood transplant, the possibility of being a perfect match is more than when a bone marrow transplant is used. Thus, cord blood stem cells are less likely to be rejected than those in the bone marrow.
  • Collecting stem cells from bone marrow is difficult than collecting it from cord blood. Also, collecting them from bone marrow poses some risks & can be painful for the donor.
  • Cord blood can be frozen & stored for years, but bone marrow stem cells, on the other hand, need to be used soon after it is collected.
  • Stem cells in cord blood can be used to strengthen the immune system during cancer treatments. Bone marrow stem cells do not have this capability.

 

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