EBK HUMAN BIOLOGY
EBK HUMAN BIOLOGY
8th Edition
ISBN: 8220102019683
Author: Johnson
Publisher: PEARSON
bartleby

Concept explainers

Question
Book Icon
Chapter 7, Problem 1QC
Summary Introduction

To review:

The decision of the federal government to allocate $79 million (about 40 cents per adult) for a public cord blood collection and storage network is wise or not.

Introduction:

After the birth of the baby, the mother’s body expels the umbilical cord and the placenta from her body, which is then cut out by a health professional. After birth and loss of physical connection with the mother, the baby starts surviving on its own. These discarded portions contain some amount of cord blood (about 50 milliliters), which along with the other blood components is rich in immature stem cells. These stem cells have the capability to divide and produce immature blood cells, which can further form platelets, RBCs (red blood cells), and WBCs (white blood cells).

There are many people who get diagnosed with a type of stem cell cancer that is acute leukemia in the bone marrow. The person diagnosed with this needs to be treated with the help of chemotherapy and radiations for killing the cells of cancer, this is then followed by bone marrow transplantation.

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark

Explanation of Solution

The decision taken by the federal government, who allocated $79 million (about 40 cents per adult) for a public cord blood collection and storage network, is a very good decision. This is because there are many people who are diagnosed with acute leukemia and need to have a bone marrow transplant to get fully cured of this cancer.

Three antigens HLA-B, (human leukocyte antigen-B), HLA-A, and HLA-DR, each having two forms, are involved in a good bone marrow transplantation between the recipient (patient) and the donor. An ideal match for the patient would be having all the same six forms matching to the donor, that is, a 6/6 match. Thus, this seems to be highly difficult and only about 10% of the patients are able to find out their compatible donors.

Due to this reason, the cord blood has become so important because the stem cells in the cord blood are immature, so the transplant of cord blood would lead to fewer transfusion reactions. Transfusion reactions are the ones where the patient's immune system rejects the blood of the donor. Thus, less or even no transfusion reaction would enable a match of 5/6 or 4/6 to be sufficient for transplantation of the bone marrow between the donor and the patient.

Further, keeping all this in mind having a public cord blood collection would be really beneficial as here, people can be able to find their perfect donor from a large pool of cord blood collection. However, if this public cord blood collection is not present, then the patient might have to struggle a lot for a compatible donor or can even end up getting no compatible donor at all.

Conclusion

Therefore, a child born to a healthy family may or may not need its cord blood, but if this child's cord blood is donated into a public cord collection, then anyone going through problems like leukemia can easily access it. Hence, the decision of the federal government for a public cord blood collection was a very good decision.

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Students have asked these similar questions
If using animals in medical experiments could save human lives, is it ethical to do so? In your answer, apply at least one ethical theory in support of your position.
You aim to test the hypothesis that the Tbx4 and Tbx5 genes inhibit each other's expression during limb development. With access to chicken embryos and viruses capable of overexpressing Tbx4 and Tbx5, describe an experiment to investigate whether these genes suppress each other's expression in the limb buds. What results would you expect if they do repress each other? What results would you expect if they do not repress each other?
You decide to delete Fgf4 and Fgf8 specifically in the limb bud. Explain why you would not knock out these genes in the entire embryo instead.
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Biology
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, biology and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Text book image
Complete Textbook Of Phlebotomy
Biology
ISBN:9781337464314
Author:Hoeltke
Publisher:Cengage
Text book image
Basic Clinical Laboratory Techniques 6E
Biology
ISBN:9781133893943
Author:ESTRIDGE
Publisher:Cengage
Text book image
Curren'S Math For Meds: Dosages & Sol
Nursing
ISBN:9781305143531
Author:CURREN
Publisher:Cengage
Text book image
Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billin...
Health & Nutrition
ISBN:9781337679480
Author:GREEN
Publisher:Cengage
Text book image
Essentials Of Human Development
Biology
ISBN:9781285647357
Author:Kail
Publisher:Cengage
Text book image
Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Co...
Biology
ISBN:9781305251052
Author:Michael Cummings
Publisher:Cengage Learning