Apurva Shree asked: Cord blood banking is a newly emergent technology in medical science to use cord blood cells of placenta for treating multiple diseases. This new technology has sparked apprehensiveness among people due to existing misconceptions about cord blood banking. Even though latest researches in umbilical cord blood cells are pointing to new ways in treating malignant diseases like cancers, few misconceptions are blinding people from the benefits of preserving these cells. Therefore, a clear margin must be drawn to distinguish misconceptions and facts about cord blood preservation.
The arrival of a newborn in a family can help you preserve lifesaving resources for the benefits of both your baby and your family. These stem cells can heal about 75 fatal diseases of blood cells and immune system and recently, have shown effectiveness in curing heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, etc. Prior to discovering benefits, blood cells in babies’ umbilical cords were put to trash. Now these blood cells are collected and stored. Some misleading ideas are putting off parents from considering cord blood banking, causing inadequate storage of resources and unavailability of cells in transplants.
Misconceptions about Cord Blood Storage
Doctors do not treat children with their own stem cells, as they may contain diseases. On the contrary, such autologous stem cell transplants have shown several advantages including low risk of graft vs. host disease, which is a primary cause of death among transplant patients.
If the family has not had any history of cancer illness, then the babies or the siblings may not require stem cell. Facts claim certain types of cancers that growing at an alarming pace and have been found to infect about many children by around fifteen years regardless of family history. Therefore, cord blood banking acts as an additional safeguard for the babies in your family.
If public cord blood bank provides the cells in need, there is no need for cord blood banking of the cells taken from your babies. It is not just about availability. During transplants, the genetic make up of the patient is also considered. Donating your baby’s cord blood ensures that the chances of genetic mismatch in times of emergency are greatly reduced. Moreover, umbilical cord blood cells are less mature and have fifty per cent more chances of HLA matches between siblings; this is why, privately stored cord blood cells can provide immense quantity of lifesaving cells for your family in need.
Umbilical Cord blood collection can hurt the newborn baby and can even cause a blood deficiency. This is wrong. Umbilical cord blood collection cannot harm your baby in any way. It is collected from the placenta only after your baby is detached from the mother. Neither the mother nor the baby can feel the blood being drained from the placenta and the umbilical cord.
Cord blood banks accept any type of blood from the donors. If the blood units are mixed, the patient runs a risk of infection. Here again, it is important to say that not all the blood cells are considered eligible due to the medical history, maternal history, collection volume of the samples etc. When the parents agree for a cord blood registry, they undergo a series of tests to ensure that the blood is fit for storage. Even if there are any complications during pregnancy, the plan for cord blood collection is immediately abandoned. Studies state that around 71 per cent of samples are rejected.
No one can plan a foolproof safeguard for deadly diseases, but cord blood banking can still give us the security to save our dear family members.
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Lisa Jenkins asked: If you had skin cancer, would you know it?
For many people, the answer to this question is no. They don’t know how to look for signs of skin cancer on their own skin. Because of this, if they get skin cancer, they may not spot it promptly.
Most types of skin cancer can be treated quickly and easily if they are found early. But if the diagnosis is delayed, the cancer can spread. In the case of melanoma, this can be fatal. Even for less serious skin cancers, such as the very common basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, delayed detection can lead to complications.
So how do you spot skin cancer? The key is knowing your own skin and being aware of changes in it.
The best way to do this is to learn how to do a complete skin self-examination. To do this, you need a full-length mirror, a hand mirror, and a place where you can use them in privacy. Stand in front of the full-length mirror and look carefully at the skin on every part of your body that you can see. Get to know your moles, marks, and other skin irregularities. Then, use the hand mirror to help you look at the places on your body that you can’t see with just one mirror. Again, take note of any marks that you see.
Once you’re familiar with what your skin normally looks like, you’ll be prepared to spot changes. Any new change in your skin should be brought to the attention of a doctor, preferably a dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in treating skin problems). Most changes will turn out not to be skin cancer, but it’s worth the trouble of having them checked out.
Changes that you should particularly look for, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, include the following:
- A sore that never really heals
- A translucent growth, perhaps with rolled edges
- A dark streak under one of your fingernails or toenails
- A cluster of shiny pinkish or reddish areas that grows slowly
- A scar with a waxy feel to it
- A flat or slightly depressed area that feels hard
When you’re looking at your skin, it’s especially important to examine all moles carefully. Most moles are perfectly normal, but it’s possible for an unusual-looking mole to be a melanoma or to turn into a melanoma.
Normal, typical moles are usually small, uniform in color, and symmetrical (the two sides look the same). They have sharp, regular borders, and they are usually located on parts of your body that are exposed to the sun. Most of them first appear sometime between early childhood and age 40, and the moles on a particular person’s body all tend to look the same. Moles that fit this description are of no concern.
Moles that should be brought to a doctor’s attention include:
- Moles that are present at birth
- Moles that first appear during middle age or later
- Any mole that has changed in appearance
- Any mole that itches or bleeds
- Any mole that shows one of the “ABCD” signs of an atypical mole. Doctors use the ABCD mnemonic to help patients remember some of the differences between atypical moles and typical ones.
The four letters stand for the following:
“A” stands for “Asymmetry.” A mole that is not symmetrical (that is, one in which one half doesn’t look like the other half) is an atypical mole.
“B” stands for “Border Irregularity.” A mole with a ragged or blurred edge or with notches in the edge is atypical.
“C” stands for “Color.” A mole that contains a variety of different colors or shades is atypical.
“D” stands for “Diameter.” A mole with a diameter larger than that of a pencil eraser is atypical.
All atypical moles – and any other skin changes or irregularities that concern you – should be examined by a doctor. Often, the doctor can tell just by looking (sometimes with the aid of a magnifying device called a dermatoscope) that the unusual-looking area is not skin cancer. In other instances, the doctor may need to perform a biopsy. This is a simple diagnostic test, performed in the doctor’s office, in which a sample of the abnormal area is removed and sent to a laboratory to be examined under a microscope.
If you do spot an abnormality on your skin, there’s no need to panic. Even if the abnormality turns out to be skin cancer (and it probably won’t), it will almost certainly be curable. The important thing is to show the abnormality to a doctor promptly so that if it is skin cancer, it can be treated right away.
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