Forget about the credit crunch, political unrest and increasing crime rate for the moment. Nothing saddens us more than seeing our children ill, especially if they are stricken with a serious illness. Life insurance may cover the cost of treatment but how do you increase their chances of getting well? You could perhaps turn to Cord Blood Banking (CBB).
The idea may not be new but the lukewarm reception among Malaysians thus far probably indicates that many are still not aware of its potential. The idea is very simple; parents store their baby's blood from the umbilical cord for a certain period.
Blood from the cord is full of the baby's stem cells. Stem cells are cells that have not been changed into a specific cell yet. They are master cells that will transform into the cells that form the human organs. They still have the potential to become any cell in any part of the body - the skin, heart, liver, etc.
Medical science expects an enormous leap forward from the use of stem cells in the treatment of certain diseases. Given the fact that umbilical cord stem cells have not yet developed into features that can be recognised by our body cells and tissues, it is less prone to develop Graft versus Host Disease than either bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells.
Graft versus Host Disease is a common complication of allogenic bone marrow transplantation in which functional immune cells in the transplanted marrow recognise the reception as "foreign" and mount an immunologic attack.
The CBB allows you to store baby's blood in case the stem cells need to be used for medical reasons. If it happens that your child is suffering from a critical disease, the cord blood that you've stored would come in handy.
According to CryoCord corporate relations manager Ham Kow Jack, the research on CBB started 20 years ago and CBB has been widely practised the world over. "InMalaysia , CBB is relatively new, but in the United States , China and Singapore
"CBB is meant to treat diseases and and is an alternative to the bone marrow transplant. The difference is that it is less painful and complicated, and the rate of rejection is also low," he added.
CryoCord is one of the companies in the country that stores cord blood. The company was established in 2002 and has so far stored cord blood from more than 10,000 customers. "We take pride in what we are doing and we are very strict when it comes to the blood tests," CryoCord assistant marketing manager Adrian Mak said.
"We do not store contaminated blood and we process the blood in a ISO Class 5 (Class 100) cleanroom, which further reduces the possibility of contamination," he added. Mak explained that they would carry out tests to ensure that the blood is not contaminated or carrying any diseases such as HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis B or C.
Tests are also conducted to measure sterility, viability and cell count of the cord blood unit. Both cord blood and maternal blood samples are sent to an internationally accredited laboratory for testing. In general, there are two types of storage: private and public. Private storage of the cord blood would cater to the use of the customer's family while public storage would be for the use of whoever is in need of it.
Cord blood may be stored for anywhere between five to 21 years. The storage fee runs from RM2,000 to RM5,000. The prices for CBB vary among companies offering the services. At the moment, CBB is more suitable for children as the volume of cells may not be sufficient enough for adults. Still, adults can include both cord blood and bone marrow to treat their diseases.
The diseases that can be treated with cord blood include thalassemia, anaemia, leukemia, stem cell disorders, platelet abnormalities, malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
The idea may not be new but the lukewarm reception among Malaysians thus far probably indicates that many are still not aware of its potential. The idea is very simple; parents store their baby's blood from the umbilical cord for a certain period.
Blood from the cord is full of the baby's stem cells. Stem cells are cells that have not been changed into a specific cell yet. They are master cells that will transform into the cells that form the human organs. They still have the potential to become any cell in any part of the body - the skin, heart, liver, etc.
Medical science expects an enormous leap forward from the use of stem cells in the treatment of certain diseases. Given the fact that umbilical cord stem cells have not yet developed into features that can be recognised by our body cells and tissues, it is less prone to develop Graft versus Host Disease than either bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells.
Graft versus Host Disease is a common complication of allogenic bone marrow transplantation in which functional immune cells in the transplanted marrow recognise the reception as "foreign" and mount an immunologic attack.
The CBB allows you to store baby's blood in case the stem cells need to be used for medical reasons. If it happens that your child is suffering from a critical disease, the cord blood that you've stored would come in handy.
According to CryoCord corporate relations manager Ham Kow Jack, the research on CBB started 20 years ago and CBB has been widely practised the world over. "In
"CBB is meant to treat diseases and and is an alternative to the bone marrow transplant. The difference is that it is less painful and complicated, and the rate of rejection is also low," he added.
CryoCord is one of the companies in the country that stores cord blood. The company was established in 2002 and has so far stored cord blood from more than 10,000 customers. "We take pride in what we are doing and we are very strict when it comes to the blood tests," CryoCord assistant marketing manager Adrian Mak said.
"We do not store contaminated blood and we process the blood in a ISO Class 5 (Class 100) cleanroom, which further reduces the possibility of contamination," he added. Mak explained that they would carry out tests to ensure that the blood is not contaminated or carrying any diseases such as HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis B or C.
Tests are also conducted to measure sterility, viability and cell count of the cord blood unit. Both cord blood and maternal blood samples are sent to an internationally accredited laboratory for testing. In general, there are two types of storage: private and public. Private storage of the cord blood would cater to the use of the customer's family while public storage would be for the use of whoever is in need of it.
Cord blood may be stored for anywhere between five to 21 years. The storage fee runs from RM2,000 to RM5,000. The prices for CBB vary among companies offering the services. At the moment, CBB is more suitable for children as the volume of cells may not be sufficient enough for adults. Still, adults can include both cord blood and bone marrow to treat their diseases.
The diseases that can be treated with cord blood include thalassemia, anaemia, leukemia, stem cell disorders, platelet abnormalities, malignancies and autoimmune diseases.
No comments:
Post a Comment