Did you know July has been declared Cord Blood Awareness Month which aims to raise awareness amongst expectant parents about the importance of saving umbilical cord blood, as well as the valuable stem cells that it contains.

Cord blood banking means preserving the newborn stem cells found in the blood of the umbilical cord and the placenta. After a baby is born, and even after delayed cord clamping, there is blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta that holds valuable newborn stem cells. 

Umbilical cord blood stem cells are referred to as the ‘building blocks of life because they are the foundation of all organs, tissues, blood, and the immune system. They serve as the internal repair system due to their unique ability to self-renew indefinitely and divide into specialized cells. This means they can transform into many different cell types within the body to repair, regrow or regenerate damaged cells within the body.

Parents have a choice between donating cord blood to a public bank for free, or paying to store it for their family in a private bank. Cord blood banking includes the whole process from collection through storage of newborn stem cells for future medical purposes.