Until recently it was believed that the umbilical cord, once it had finished its function (when cut to separate the child from the placenta), was useless and threw it away. Today is not always the case.
It is known that within the cord there is a great treasure, the famous stem cells, which are used for transplants in some leukemia patients and thus be able to cure them. For this reason, such a precious treasure should not be wasted and set in motion umbilical cord blood banks.
In these banks, the blood of the donor is preserved so that he or his relatives can use it if the case arises. After delivery, you can donate or save the tiny amount of blood that circulates inside the cord to help you or others, but you must choose one or the other option, since you cannot choose both. There are diseases that can be treated with stem cells and if they come from the umbilical cord itself, they are ideal, since they are compatible with your body and no rejection will occur.
Hopefully you never had to use this type of resources, but just in case your baby needed it in the next 20 years, since there are no studies that show that it can be conserved beyond this time, you can, in the case of Spain , get in touch with any of these umbilical cord blood banks.
This is the case of Crio-cord, a company specialized in this matter, if you contact them, they will explain in detail how is the whole process, the information prior to the midwife, the collection of blood, conservation and price total.
Throw it out not! Since you can donate it at no cost and can help save a life in the future, if you decide to donate it, they will inform you of the process and you will have to sign a consent, they will give you a detailed medical history of possible diseases that may contraindicate the use of the blood of the umbilical cord.
In labor, you will have several tests to rule out possible diseases and the collection of cord blood will be done once the cord has been cut. You already know it and although it seems heavy to highlight it, it is important, use it to save lives either by saving it or by donating it.
