By Anna Valmero
TAGUIG CITY, METRO MANILA— Tintin Bersola-Babao and Lexi Schulze Berenguer-Testa are urging Filipino mothers to invest in the “natural health insurance” through preservation of post-birth stem cells.
Cord blood banking involves storing (via cryopresevation) stem cells found in newly-cut umbilical cord immediately after birth.
Stem cells are building blocks of the blood and immune system that can be stored for up to a century in case the need arises, said Dr. Arvin Faundo, medical director of the CordLife Medical Philippines Inc.
CordLife is the only private cord blood banking facility in the Philippines.
Getting cord blood from clamped umbilical cord is safe and free since the cord is usually discarded as waste in hospitals, according to Faundo.
“Instead of throwing away those life-forming cells, it is best to store them for future use because it offers biological protection for the whole family,” he said.
Stem cells can be collected by the attending obstetrician-gynecologist (OB) then packed in a kit and sent within 36 hours to the CordLife laboratory, located at the Ayala Technohub in Diliman, Quezon City.
Stem cells are known to develop into new red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, said Dr. Keith Goh, consultant nuerosurgeon at Singapore-based International Neuro Associates.
Goh is the first neurosurgeon in Asia to treat cerebral palsy using cord blood stem cells in 2004. “Stem cell therapy may hold the key for children with cerebral palsy or similar neurologial issues. If a child has his or her own stem cells stored, the operation is safe and viable,” said Goh.
To date, stem cell therapy has saved 20,000 people suffering from leukemia and other blood disorders.
Obtaining matches between donor and recipient of the stem cells is done via human leukocyte antigens and matches can be achieved regardless of blood type. Among family members, a cord blood match is 60 percent higher than a bone marrow match.
Goh added that stem cell therapy was first done in 1988 and since then, it has been medically proven to treat 80 diseases including the reconstruction of the immune and blood system after chemotherapy in cancer patients. It also benefits patients treated for bone marrow failure syndromes and metabolic disorders.
For her second child Antonio, Bersola-Babao said she made sure to avail of cord blood banking to ensure a source of blood, should her children will need them for surgeries later in life.
“We only have a chance to get our child protected with cord blood banking. Instead of wasting the stem cells in the umbilical cord by throwing it away, it makes sense to bank them for future use because it protects your newborn child, his siblings and the parents as well,” she said.
Berenguer-Testa, meanwhile, did the same after being diagnosed with cancer prior to her pregnancy. Should the need arises, she said there is a higher percentage that she and her child will survive through stem cell therapy.
Schulze added that to maintain the storage of the stem cells, “one has to pay P22 daily, which is affordable considering that Filipinos can buy P100 load for their cellphones.”
Enrollment for cord blood banking is about P40,000, which can be paid through credit card and other flexible terms. Maintenance is around P8,000 for each year (or P22 a day).
The contract is up to 18 years, afterwhich the parent will have to turn it over to the child who owns the cord blood for further storage or donation to public blood banks.
To date, stem cell therapy is being performed at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, St. Luke's Medical Center, and Asian Hospital and Medical Center.
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