Selecting the Perfect Cord Blood Bank for Your Baby: An Ultimate Guide
Cord blood banking involves collecting and storing a newborn’s umbilical cord blood for possible future medical use. This blood is rich in stem cells, specifically hematopoietic stem cells, which can develop into different types of blood cells. These stem cells are useful in treating various blood and immune system diseases, certain genetic conditions, and some types of cancers.
An alternative treatment using stem cells is a bone marrow transplant, but finding a matching donor can be very challenging, even among family members. On the other hand, matching cord blood stem cells is generally easier. Parents have the option to donate their baby’s cord blood to a public bank, which is managed under the National Marrow Donor Program. Once donated, the cord blood is available to anyone in need, and the family cannot retrieve it. To ensure ethical practices, donated cord blood, like all human specimens, is kept anonymous.
Parents can also choose to store their baby’s cord blood in a private bank for personal use, but this can be quite expensive, costing around $2500 initially plus annual storage fees. It’s important to note that the likelihood of needing such stem cell treatment is quite low—about 1 in 217. Additionally, private banks sometimes do not collect enough stem cells to be effective for treatment.
Due to the high costs and low probabilities of use, the medical community generally advises against using private cord blood banks unless there’s a known medical condition or a high risk of genetic disease in the family. Both public and private cord blood banks are regulated by the US FDA, and private banks must be accredited.
If parents decide to collect and store their baby’s cord blood, they need to inform the chosen cord blood bank—public or private—at least three weeks before the birth. The collection process is harmless for both mother and baby. The umbilical cord, and sometimes the placenta, are collected shortly after birth and sent to a lab in a sterile ice container.
A minimum of 75 ml of cord blood is necessary to gather enough stem cells for potential transplants. In the lab, the blood undergoes testing for viruses like HIV and Hepatitis B and C, and other assessments to ensure it is viable. Contaminated blood is not stored. Viable cord blood is cryopreserved using liquid nitrogen in a controlled freezing process, allowing the cells to remain alive and usable for several years.
