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Having a baby can be one of a family’s most joyous occasions, and with more than 4 million babies born each year there are many happy people with healthy new additions to their families. However, the New York Birth Injury Attorney claims, there are also other babies that are born with a variety of health problems, including those deemed as being debilitating like Erbs Palsy. While any child that is born with medical problems is both sad and tragic, many parents have been utilizing a method known as cord blood storage as a means of providing for their children should a condition or illness manifest itself as they grow and develop.
An questioner was told that cord blood contains stem cells and other genetic information about the baby. The method of delivery of the baby is irrelevant as the cord blood can be harvested whether the baby is born vaginally or by C-section. The cord blood is collected before the umbilical cord is cut and is then sent to either a private or public storage facility to which the parents will pay a monthly fee to store their child’s cord blood for future use, if needed. The one distinction between the public and private storage is that the parents’ monthly fee assures that their child’s blood will be available to them if needed, and a public storage is more like a cord blood bank where the cord blood is made available to anyone who needs it. Either storage method would only be good until the child reaches about 18-years of age since it is at that point that there would be insufficient stem cells within the cord blood to treat the person.
While storing cord blood may be considered by many to be a controversial approach to a potential medical problem that may never materialize, there are many who store the cord blood in case their child develops a blood type disease such as leukemia. To a parent who has a child who has been diagnosed with such a disease, cord blood storage could be considered a godsend.
As with any new technology, there are positive and negative arguments, a NY Birth Injury Lawyer learned. The technology is still considered as new, so there is also much about it that is unknown. Hospitals in New York City and Queens are studying results. As with any new method or tool, those who seek to gain use of the new system should weigh their options carefully and arrive at the decision that is best for you and your family.
Have you and your baby been put at risk by the staff of a medical facility? Contact a New York Birth Injury Attorney who is aware of the many factors that can affect both you and your baby and will work hard to get you the settlement that you deserve.The Office of Stephen Bilkis and Associates can offer you support and guidance as well as a free consultation when you contact us at 1-800-NY-NY-LAW. We have offices in N York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx and in Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County.