Until it was revealed that the Princes of Asturias did so at the birth of their first daughter, very few knew the possibility of preserving umbilical cord cells from their newborn babies.
Today we know more about this possibility. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Secuvita, one of the private banks operating in Spain, 79.9% know the existence of this scientific procedure and 90% of Spaniards have said that they would keep the stem cells of the umbilical cord of their children.
However, it is still an issue that is not reported if one does not ask. I think it is still seen as a kind of snobbery of some parents, a very common prejudice with these kinds of things that start being an exception and then end up spreading.
It is true that there is still information about the procedure, its possible therapeutic uses, etc. If one does not start to investigate, it is not a matter to be dealt with in prenatal consultations. As evidence, only 10% of respondents confessed to having been informed of this possibility by their gynecologist.
The majority of respondents, 93.5%, consider that the service should be covered by Social Security, which currently covers only specific cases of families with special problems.
The rest of the parents who want to keep the stem cells of the umbilical cord for a period of 30 years must resort to one of the private banks that charge about 2.ooo euros at the time of extraction and a maintenance of about 90 euros per year.
For its part, in March a National Cord Blood Cord Plan was approved with the objective of doubling voluntary donations and expanding the six banks that currently exist in Spain.
Without a doubt, it is a field where there is a long road ahead. We already know about specific cases (we have talked about some in the blog) in which cell autotransplantation has managed to cure several children.
Surely in the next few years there will be amazing discoveries about the use of these cells, which is why I would also choose to have this kind of life insurance to save a child for as little as possible that I may need it.
