Umbilical Cord Blood Miracle - How Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord Blood Help in Curing Diseases

When a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, the blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta is usually discarded as medical waste. Not any more, as such blood has been found to be a very important and rich source of stem cells, and stem cells is mankind's latest hope in its battle against age-old fatal diseases.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that eventually become the different types of blood cells. And as of today, about 70 medical disorders have been treated with such cells, specifically those taken from the umbilical cord. Such cells are very important in the treatment of, say, leukemia, or cancer of the blood. When patients undergo radiation therapy or chemotherapy, their stock stem cells are destroyed, leaving them in a very vulnerable, almost deadly condition. Traditionally, they receive transplant from a donor via bone marrow transplant or direct normal blood transfusion. These two sources of stem cells are fraught with pain and side-effects, and it is tricky to find a donor match.

On the other hand, stem cells from umbilical cord blood are very easy to collect and transplant, and it is not painful to administer. Moreover, it is not difficult to find a family member that can provide a match. And the greatest thing of all is that umbilical cord blood is almost always free of any contamination or infection.

Stem cell transplants can save lives of people with serious diseases, such as leukemia (cancer of the white blood cells) and other cancers, or those with serious blood disorders (aplastic anemia). Recently, it has been found that such cells taken from cord blood can also be used in the treatment of brain injury, cerebral palsy, type 1 diabetes, and heart disorders.

Because of its obvious importance, umbilical cord blood and its storage in an established cord blood bank upon the birth of a baby is becoming a hot issue. The good thing is that parents nowadays have this risk-free choice.

For more information regarding how storing cord blood can protect you and your child's future, check out umbilical cord blood.

Kayla Leeds is a veteran author who maintains a news website called Hot Daily Buzz ([http://hotdailybuzz.com]).

Original article

Leukemia Causes and Its Effects on Blood Cells

Leukemia is cancer of blood which starts in bone marrow. The word "Leukemia" means white blood. The end result of leukemia is reduction in blood cells count. To understand leukemia, it is very important to be aware of the formation of blood.

Our blood consists of plasma and cells which float in this yellow colored liquid. Blood cells are categorized into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Each of these types performs very important job in our body. Red cell transport oxygen from lungs to all tissues of body and bring back carbon dioxide which is then breath out. Deficiency in red blood cells may cause diseases like anemia. White cells are building blocks of immune system. Immune system detects dangerous substances in body and kills them. So white cells protect our body against diseases attacks. Lack of white cells exposes body to various diseases. Platelets are clotting bodies. Platelets clot blood and stop bleeding in case of any wound. Deficiency of platelets may result in too much bleeding and excess of platelets leads to clots in blood.

All blood cells are produced in bone marrow. Due to some unknown reasons, damage is caused to the DNA of cells (mostly white blood cells). As a result of this damage, bone marrow produces abnormal cells. These abnormal cells are produced at rapid speed. Normal body cells are replaced by fresh healthy cells after few months but these abnormal cells last for long time. Eventually, abnormal cells replace almost all of the normal cells if left untreated. This situation is called leukemia. Leukemia is also called cancer of bone marrow because it starts in bone marrow.

Leukemia symptoms include swelling in lymph nodes, pain in joints, bruising, weight loss, night sweats and tiredness. If some one feels such symptoms, he should not worry as leukemia symptoms are shared by many other diseases. He should immediately contact his doctor. The diagnosis of leukemia is done by CBC and bone marrow test and its treatment options includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy and bone marrow transplant. Often, a mixed approach is used to treat leukemia.

This article is summary of resources available at following website.
http://leukemia-symptoms.thehealthinfo.net/

Original article