Blood Cancer Month
Getting a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. Cancer spreads throughout the body like wildfire. It affects and changes so many lives. One minute your life is filled with laughter, playgrounds, and playdates! The next, worry consumes you, and hospitals and doctors are your new home. But don’t give up just yet; there’s a treatment that can help. In honor of blood cancer awareness month, we’re introducing you to Stem Cell Transplantation. Have you ever heard of Stem Cell Transplantation? No? Well glad you asked!
There are three types of Blood cancers:
- Myeloma
- Lymphoma
- Leukemia (the most common cancer found in children).
Blood cancers can reconstruct the function of your blood cells, causing your stem cells in your bone marrow to repel. These cancerous cells stop your blood from fulfilling its normal functions. This is where Stem Cell Transplantation comes into play. SCT is a medical procedure used to transplant healthy stem cells into your bone marrow. The goal is to restore your body’s ability to create the red blood cells and white blood cells it needs to function. Stem cell transplantation has been used to treat patients with blood cancers and other autoimmune diseases as well. And now you’re probably thinking… what type of stem cells are being used and how does it actually work?
Cord Blood Transfers
Cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta of healthy newborns and is a rich source of blood-forming stem cells. This makes it a good alternative source of blood-forming stem cells for blood cancer treatment, for people who do not have a readily available matched adult donor.
Parents have the option of donating or privately storing cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta tissue at birth. The cells are then stored frozen in cord blood banks. The match required between cord blood stem cells and the patient receiving them is less strict than with donors. That’s because a baby’s immune system is not yet fully developed.
Also, cord blood cells are great at fighting cancer. This ninja-like ability is called the graft-versus-leukemia effect. It can help prevent a person’s cancer from returning after their cord blood transplant.
As a source of stem cells for people with blood cancers, cord blood has major advantages. Because cord blood is in frozen storage, it is available right away. This makes the transplant easy to schedule. It is also good for people who need an urgent transplant.
Your baby is a 100% match to their own stem cells. Their cells can be used to treat certain non-genetic diseases and cancers. Siblings and family members likely may also be a potential match. Treatments using a family member’s cells can be twice as successful as treatments from a non-relative or donor.
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High-dose chemotherapy or radiation can cause severe injury to the blood forming cells in marrow (the spongy part inside your bones). For people with lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), or other blood cancers, cord blood stem cell transplant can be very beneficial after therapy.
Others who can benefit include those with other marrow or immune system disorders. A family choosing to store its baby’s cord blood for private family use must make arrangements in advance with a private bank.
Usually the family will sign a contract with the company, pay an initial fee, obtain the company’s special cord blood collection kit and get their obstetrician’s agreement to do the collection. Initial and annual storage fees vary from company to company. Currently, AlphaCord is the most affordable option for private stem cell banking.
Looking for a Cord Blood Bank?
Look no further than AlphaCord.
Take an extra step in protecting your baby by preserving their stem cells. There are 80+ FDA Approved diseases that can be treated with cord blood stem cells. PRESERVE NOW
FREE - Newborn Stem Cell Banking Information Kit ♡
THE CONTENT OF THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. It is intended for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. If you have a medical emergency or question, immediately call your doctor or dial 911 for assistance.
