MANILA, Philippines - What are the benefits of keeping your baby's cord blood cryogenically preserved?

According to Steven Fang, founder and CEO of CordLife Limited, keeping umbilical cord blood in cold storage allows families to "insure" themselves against future medical conditions such as lymphoma and leukemia, which are the top 2 childhood cancers in the Philippines.

He said cord blood can be used for the treatment of more than 80 diseases including certain cancers and many other blood-related disorders.

"There is a clear, unmet medical need for an internationally accredited and responsive private cord blood bank in most modern economies given the high prevalence of cancers and blood-related disorders," Fang told reporters at the opening of CordLife's first cord blood processing and cryopreservation facility at the UP-Ayaland Technohub in Quezon City.

In a presentation, CordLife Group Medical Affairs head Dr. Cherie Daly explained that cord blood has stem cells, which are considered the "building blocks" of any cell in the human body. Once injected into the human body, stem cells can develop into replacement cells that would help heal damaged organs.

Traditionally, stem cells can be harvested from the bone marrow, peripheral blood, fat tissue and even early stage embryos. Daly, however, said some of the procedures to get stem cells from sources other than cord blood can be invasive and risky and is sometimes considered unethical.

She also noted that cord blood is now the preferred source of stem cells for transplantation in children as it has distinct advantages over bone marrow and peripheral blood as a source for stem cells.

The collection process of umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells is quick and painless, posing no risk to either mother or baby. At the delivery room, the UCB is collected directly after the delivery of the baby. It is then transported directly to CordLife's laboratory facility, where it is tested, processed and cryogenically frozen. The whole process takes place within 12 hours of delivery.

Once the cord blood is cryogenically preserved, family members now have a ready source of nascent stem cells that can be used when they contract leukemia, lymphomas and other malignant blood disorders.

Daly said privately stored cord blood is also being used in clinical trials for indications beyond the known and proven blood cancers and hemoglobinopathies.These treatments are referred to as cellular therapy where the children's own privately stored cord blood is being infused back to the children in the hope of treating or improving outcomes of diseases or injuries like cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Suzanne Salindong, CordLife Medical Philippines country manager, said she expects many Filipino families to be enticed by the benefits of cord blood banking.

"Definitely, we also see a market here especially in the A and B Class and those in the working class and people with a history of medical conditions. This is something that they should look into," she said.

The cost of CordLife's service is P40,000 for upfront enrollment and processing fee including cord blood collection, procedural fee, cord blood processing, viability test, infectious disease tests and ground transportation of cord blood unit within Metro Manila. Clients are also charged an P8,000 annual maintenance fee for the continued cryopreservation of the cord blood unit.

Giselle Sanchez, a TV personality who is also a CordLife client, said she sees cord blood banking as a form of life insurance for her family.

"It's like insurance such as investing in stocks and bonds. But if your child gets sick, money is not always the best solution. This is a form of investing in your child's health," she said.