Cord Blood Banking Myths

Cord blood banking is a relatively new trend in comparison to other medical technologies that individuals take advantage of. It is gaining popularity day by day as more and more people become informed about it. However, there are still a large number of widely-held misconceptions by the general public. A greater understanding of cord blood banking will help more people make informed decisions that will have a tremendous impact on their lives. Below you will be able to read about some of the biggest and most common myths surrounding cord blood banking today.

Myth 1 - Doctors can't use a patient's own cord blood for treatment because it would contain the disease that they are trying to treat. The patient would not benefit and might even get sicker.

Fact - Transplants where the individual's own stem cells are used are called autologous transplants. These autologous transplants are done all of the time and have been shown to be quite effective in treating conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other kinds of solid tumors. Actually, the individual's own stem cells are the most effective, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study shows that even in cases where the disease began early in childhood, an individual's own stem cells are preferable to those of an anonymous donor.

Actually, infants and small children who were treated using their own stem cells showed a higher recovery rate than those who were given others according to the Cord Blood Banking Organization. The biggest risk to transplant patients (and the leading cause of death) is that of the body reacting badly to another person's blood because the two types of blood are incompatible with one another. By using an individual's own stem cells, this risk is removed and the dangers are significantly lower causing less risk to the patient. There also is a much lower chance that the cells will become contaminated as they might when using donor cells that have typically been handled by more people then using the individual's own stem cells.