Australian model Rebecca Judd and her AFL player husband Chris Judd have raised eyebrows after revealing they are storing their daughter Billie Kate’s umbilical cord.
The 31-year-old weather presenter elected for her obstetrician to collect the blood and tissue of her daughter’s umbilical cord after she gave birth, which will be stored in a cord blood bank for the benefit of future stem cell treatment.
This isn’t the first time the couple have elected for this procedure, after collecting umbilical cord blood from their first-born child, Oscar, now 2.
“It made a lot of sense to store both the cord tissue and blood with our new daughter,” Rebecca told the Herald Sun.
“Of course, you obviously hope to never be in a position to have to use it. But ensuring we stored this important cord tissue and cord blood made sense.”
Stem cells are responsible for generating new tissue and repairing and regenerating damaged and ageing tissues. According to Stem Cells Australia, blood stem cells are currency being used to treat blood and immune system conditions, such as leukaemia, anaemia and autoimmune diseases.
“Umbilical cord blood collected at birth is a rich source of stem cells that can be used in research and in the clinic to treat diseases of the blood and immune system,” Stem Cells Australia states.
The main type of stem cell being collected from the umbilical cord is haematopoietic stem cells, which are used to regenerate red blood cells and immune system cells.
Mesenchymal stromal cells, which can be used to grow into bone, cartilage and tissue, are currently being researched to see if patients could benefit from this also.
Umbilical cord storage allows people to store their stem cells for future use – like a blood bank – and in no way harms the mother or baby during the process.
The attractive couple are believed to have paid $3000 for the privilege of storing the umbilical cord of their daughter.
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