5 benefits of storing your placenta  

Throughout pregnancy, the placenta nourishes your baby with everything it needs to grow and protects it from harmful things. After birth, many people believe its ability to protect your child stops there. But that is certainly not the case.

What many people don’t know is that the placenta is rich in special stem cells with life-saving potential. These cells can be used to treat some serious diseases and protect your child throughout their life.

That’s why many parents have chosen to save their placenta for future use through placenta banking. But what exactly is placenta banking?

You may have already heard of cord blood banking, which involves the collection and storage of residual umbilical cord blood following birth. Similar to this, parents have the unique opportunity to store the amniotic membrane and cells within the placenta through placenta banking.

I’ve teamed up with the UK’s only placenta storage bank, Cells4Life to discuss 5 benefits of storing your placenta.

1) Proven therapies

The use of the placenta in the history of medicine dates back to long before umbilical cord blood. Since the early 20th century, the placenta has been used to treat various conditions and injuries from burns to wounds and even eye conditions, such as dry eye.

The first documented use of the amniotic membrane was back in 1910, when it was used as a wound dressing to promote healing. And since the 1940s, tissue from the placenta has been used in eye surgery for conditions that could ultimately lead to blindness.

2) Regenerative potential

Amniotic membrane and placenta cells are being increasingly used by scientists and researchers in an emerging area of medicine known as regenerative medicine, which involves repairing damaged tissue, replacing organs and curing diseases.

These powerful cells are central to thousands of studies across the globe which are investigating new ways to treat various conditions. This is due to the well-documented ability of placental tissue and cells to reduce inflammation and regulate the immune system.

The list of potential new treatments for conditions such as diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular conditions seems to be ever-growing. Scientists have even used stem cells from the amniotic membrane to 3D print body parts, from functional muscles to ears! Who knows what will be possible in 5, 10, or even 20 years’ time.

3) Treating COVID-19

A race has emerged from the global pandemic to find a safe and effective treatment for the deadly virus – and fast. Due to their anti-inflammatory and healing properties, placental cells have recently been used to treat critically ill coronavirus patients.

A group of 6 critically ill COVID-19 patients, who had been identified as high-risk for mortality, were treated with a placenta-based cell therapy. All of the patients were suffering from respiratory failure and were heavily dependent on ventilators for survival.

However, just one week after receiving the placenta cell treatment, all patients had survived and three of them had almost been fully weaned from their ventilators. The initial results from these patients show that using cells from the placenta may be a safe and effective treatment for even some of the most severe cases of COVID-19.

4) Protect the whole family

Banking your placenta could not only provide protection for your baby, but it could even protect the rest of your family. This is because the amniotic membrane is non-immunogenic, which basically means that patients do not need to be an exact match, unlike other donor transplants.

Therefore, cells and tissue from the placenta can be used by all family members without the risk of rejection for a wide range of treatments throughout their lifetime.

5) More cells, more treatments

Families who choose to bank their baby’s umbilical cord blood alongside their placenta will access a wide range of cells. The number and types of cells you have stored could mean the difference between being able to access just one treatment for one child, and multiple treatments for multiple family members. 

Essentially, the more cells you have saved, the more treatment opportunities that become available to you and your family. And that’s not just for today, but for the rest of your lives.

To find out more about the possibilities of placenta banking visit cells4life.com or download your free welcome pack here.