What is umbilical cord blood, and why are celebrities choosing Plymouth-based Biovault Family to bank it?
Stem cells are extraordinary. Those left in your baby's cord blood after the birth are especially powerful, able to regenerate every kind of damaged blood cell. So far cord blood stem cells are being used to treat more than 80 diseases including cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma, inherited immune system and immune-cell disorders, sickle cell disease and anaemia, and Gaucher disease. But they can also help treat other immune, blood and neurological disorders.
No wonder so many parents are storing their children's cord blood. And it’s no surprise a growing group of ethical, forward-thinking celebrity movers and shakers is getting involved, choosing a company called Biovault Family to bank their baby's umbilical cord blood.
The experts at Biovault Family have been working with key celebrity influencers who have banked their own baby's cord blood, and who want to help spread the word. Take Portia Jett, who is married to the British television and radio presenter and actor Ore Oduba. In October the couple had their second baby Genie, brother to Roman. As Portia says, “For us as a family it was the right decision. If the unthinkable was ever to happen and we could save or help our children and other family members with stem cells, why wouldn't we?
“Because these cells can treat over 80 diseases it was a no brainer for us. We just hope more families look into this whilst pregnant. Biovault is a brilliant company, run with compassion and heart at the forefront of everything they do. They just want to help expectant parents in any way they can."
Last year television presenter, model, and fashion journalist Louise Roe and her husband Mackenzie Hunkin chose to bank their baby's Inès' cord blood with Biovault Family. Like all parents, the couple were determined to do everything in their power to keep their new baby safe. Louise says, "Stem cells have the ability to be life-changing and life-saving, with more and more discoveries being made each year, this was a very important thing for us to do as a family.
“We decided to bank our newborn daughter's stem cells using Biovault, after having a long chat with them over the phone. They're the only place in the UK that has their own storage facility and an insurance policy that means if anything happens to the company, our baby's cells will still be looked after for 50 years.
“The diseases this can help treat and cure are very wide-spanning, and the list is growing. I do feel a huge sense of security knowing we have invested in our baby's health and future.”
Ricky Martin, winner of the The Apprentice in 2012, is another Biovault Family convert along with his wife Gemma. They used Biovault Family for a second time in 2020 after the birth of their baby daughter. As Ricky commented, "My family and I decided to bank our newborn daughter's stem cells using Biovault. All it took was a detailed phone call and we were convinced. As the only place in the UK offering Escrow protection, our baby's cells will be kept safe for 50 years whatever happens to the company. It felt like the perfect solution and it’s great to know the cells we’ve saved might one day save a family member’s life”.
Collecting umbilical cord stem cells offers parents a revolutionary way to protect their child’s well-being into the future. So how about the money side of things? Is there a celebrity price tag? While the cost can put some people off, it isn’t expensive to collect and store cord blood stem cells when you consider the cells are held safe for as long as 50 years. To help out, Biovault Family offers a 0% payment plan from 3 months to 22 months, bringing the potential of stem cell therapy to reality for ordinary families across the UK. You can store from as little as £695.
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