Pregnancy is one of the most exciting moments in a woman's life, but it is marked by important decisions. One of them is the preservation or not of umbilical cord blood, rich in stem cells, in order to be able to use it in the future before possible diseases of the baby, a relative or a compatible anonymous person.
The mother cells They are important because they have two fundamental characteristics: they divide almost indefinitely and can be differentiated, transformed, into any cell of the body (bone, muscle, blood cells ...). Precisely, this potential means that they can be used for regeneration of damaged cells or tissues for serious diseases. Specifically, the main utility of umbilical cord blood is transplants to people with congenital or acquired bone marrow diseases, such as acute or chronic leukemias.
A risk-free and painless technique
Any pregnant woman of legal age with a normal pregnancy and a uncomplicated delivery You can be a donor. After the baby is born, the umbilical cord is clamped and, before the placenta is expelled, the umbilical vein is punctured, the blood is drawn and stored in a sterile bag labeled with the mother's data. Extraction does not imply no risk for the woman or the baby and is totally painless. Samples are also taken from the mother's venous blood to exclude through an analysis the existence of infectious diseases transmitted by transfusion.
THE BLOOD EXTRACTION OF THE UMBILICAL CORD IS CARRIED OUT AFTER THE BIRTH AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY RISK
Cord blood is transported to a blood bank, where it undergoes different controls and its quality is evaluated. Fit samples freeze to a temperature of -196 degrees and those that do not pass the tests are discarded or destined for research.
Public and private banks
Spanish legislation offers several options for the conservation of umbilical cord blood: from donate it to a public bank, being eventually used to perform a transplant to any anonymous patient in the world who needs it, with no preference other than the best possible compatibility, to keep it in a private bank to autologous use (for oneself).
Most private banks are located outside of Spain, since our legislation establishes that cord cells stored in private centers in Spain can become public use If a patient is compatible with them. In the case of Sanitas, the bank is located in Lisbon (Portugal).
The probability that the stored umbilical cord blood units are used by the child they come from is low, according to the National Transplant Organization (ONT). The reason is that almost all indications of transplantation in childhood are due to diseases that have a genetic or congenital basis and, therefore, may be present in cord cells.
SPANISH LEGISLATION ALLOWS TO DONATE THE BLOOD OF THE UMBILICAL CORD TO A PUBLIC BANK OR KEEP IT IN A PRIVATE ONE
However, we must remember, as pointed out by Sanitas, that "the success of a compatible sibling transplant of umbilical cord blood is greater and with a lower incidence of graft versus host disease compared to the transplant of a public bank. "Not forgetting the"therapeutic potential of these cells, reflected in multiple research programs focused on the treatment of serious diseases. "
A process that requires specialized personnel and means
The Sanitas cryopreservation bank has the necessary accreditations to provide the service with full guarantee. "We take care of our processes and protocols to the maximum (collection, verification, validation and transfer of the sample to the blood bank) to offer the best quality," they say.
They only store samples that comply with the adequate cellularity requirements for use in case of need for transplantation (a minimum of 250 million nucleated cells). "Units that do not have sufficient quality will not be stored, unless the family chooses to do so equally."
Regarding how long they are preserved, they do so for a period of 25 years, since scientific evidence, to date, shows that the cells are still alive after that period of cryopreservation.
In addition, Sanitas advises families throughout the entire process and, for this, it has an expert medical team. And it is not an easy decision, but, if you consider donating the blood of the umbilical cord, both your gynecologist in the periodic reviews of the pregnancy and the midwife in the childbirth preparation classes they will inform you of this option and coordinate the process in case you finally decide to carry it out.
Note that not all hospitals are ready for pickup -It is a procedure that requires specialized personnel and the necessary technical means-, so it is recommended that you value it before deciding where to give birth.
Photos: iStock | joingate | SaferTim
