Here are some other sources of information:

In this introduction to cord blood, I'd like to go through some basics of cord blood.

Many parents are deciding to donate their baby's umbilical cord blood for the sake of their future health, but why is this?

Firstly, realise that cord blood has 2 main areas of use, firstly for private or public donation for use as blood cell transplantation.

And secondly, it is used in a minor way for stem cell research to research on how stem cells can be turned into more mature functioning cells.

Let's in this article talk about choosing among the cord blood banks for your own use.

When thinking about cord blood banks for private use as opposed to public donation, look at these factors:

Firstly, consider whether the particular cord blood bank you're looking at is accredited with the American Association of Blood Banks.

The fact that the bank is accredited means that the bank is inspected from time to time according to schedule to see that they meet the accreditation rules.

Accreditation of cord blood banks include issues such as whether correct procedures to screen and test the mother are followed, and standards of storage in their facility.

Secondly think about whether the cord blood bank is well established or not. This simply means a bit of due diligence as to whether the bank has any concerns over financial health, whether their customers are happy, whether there is any problems with management or ethics of the company.

Of course you can't predict the future, but a good company now helps peace of mind.

For more about cord blood banking and donating see this site on cord blood banking:

• www.parentscordblood.com for more articles on this topic.

So in conclusion, cord blood does hold promise for the future, for both private use as well as the benefits it has for the public to help people in medical need who cannot find a suitable bone marrow transplant.

As well as this, stem cell research is being helped by the use of stem cells found in cord blood.

This is another related area to cord blood, and more and more is discovered about how cells can be used for treatment as stem cell research continues.

N.B. Caveat Emptor! Please note that the resources above are third parties that are not related to Sleepydust. We claim no responsibility for information on any of the above web sites. The information on these sites have not been checked or verified.