Military Cord Blood Banking

Military Cord Blood Banking: 
Cord Blood Banking Storage Programs may help treat battle injuries and unknown diseases. Coy Thomas, a Vietnam veteran is now searching public donation banks to find a close enough cord blood match to treat the leukemia he has developed from exposure to Agent Orange. The discarded cord blood of a helpless newborn may offer the ultimate protection for those defending our freedom. The cord blood stem cells from a soldier's newborn may bring future healing to our heroes in ways currently unimagined.

A newborn's cord blood is rich in stem cells. These cells are often stored in case the baby or a blood related relative needs them later in life. The closer the blood relation of the cell donor means the more likely that these cells will be helpful. They are currently used to treat over seventy diseases, and the list is growing. In fact, a recent episode of NBC's Today Show credited these cells for curing a child's cerebral palsy. Currently, these cells are best known for being the best treatment of leukemia. It is a strongly believed by some, that stem cells will one day provide treatment for spinal cord injury, breast cancer, burns, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and numerous other dreadful illnesses.

As it stands today, the odds that a baby will use his or her cord blood is approximately 1 in 2,700. The odds that a family member will use these cells are 1 in 1,400. If this question had been asked in 1988, the chance of these cells being used would have been approximately 1 in 40,000. As research progresses, many doctors and scientists believe stem cells will become a very frequent treatment option for a wide variety of diseases.

The Surgeon General does not endorse particular Cord Blood Storage companies or specific corporate donations. The Surgeon General's office noted that it will be a day of celebration for all when stem cells save the life of a soldier's child who is stricken with leukemia, as they have been proven to do, or repair a damaged spinal cord as  Cord Blood Military Storage programs are hoping they will one day be able to do.

Cord Blood Storage is a pain-free process using umbilical cord blood that would otherwise be discarded. Cord blood collection is taken from the no-longer-needed umbilical cord after the newborn is given to his/her mother. The stem cells are then extracted. In order to maximize the number of viable cells, they are very slowly frozen. The best labs use a step-down process so that the cells can accommodate each new temperature. The progression to lower and lower temperatures keeps the cells from being "shocked" as they are eventually placed into the freezer at -196 degrees.

Stem cells can only be collected at the time of birth, so parents have to decide about storing them well in advance of the delivery. Most states are now investing in public banks for stem cell storage. These banks may be beneficial to people such as Mr. Thomas, who will not have access to a close relative's stem cells. Unfortunately, as the New England Journal of Medicine noted, stem cells from unrelated donors are less likely to be helpful than one's own cells.

Doctor Jonathan Liss, founder of Stork Medical, hopes that stem cells will one day be used to treat today's battlefield injuries and tomorrows illnesses from chemical exposures. To help this become a reality, Military Cord Blood Storage programs are trying to make cord blood storage affordable to everyone who has served our country.

Stork Medical provides stem cell storage nationwide. For more information, contact http://www.stork.md

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