Banking Cord Blood Stem Cells

Cord blood banking is a medical option that offers parents the opportunity to collect cord blood and cryogenically store their newborn's umbilical cord blood stem cells for use in medical treatments if ever needed. Like stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood stem cells can be used to treat various genetic disorders that affect the blood and immune system, leukemia, certain cancers, and some inherited disorders. 

To date, more than 70 disorders have been treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood. Cord blood stem cells not only may replace bone marrow stem cells in treating different disorders, but because they are less developed than those found in bone marrow, they may also be used to help rebuild a patient's immune system weakened by radiation or chemotherapy. In addition, stem cell research is progressing rapidly and current studies have shown the potential to use cord blood stem cells to treat heart attack, spinal cord injuries, and diabetes.

Umbilical cord blood banking guarantees that cord blood stem cells are a perfect match for your child and can potentially be a match for siblings and parents. Increasingly, a related cord blood stem cell transplant is preferred over unrelated cord blood stem cells or bone marrow when treating siblings or other family members. This makes banking cord blood for all siblings all the more important.

Understanding the value of cord blood storage is particularly important for families with a history of certain diseases, for those that have diverse ethnic backgrounds, that are adopting a newborn child, using and egg or sperm donor, or that have a family member who may need a stem cell transplant. In addition, cord blood stem cells can be stored for decades. Should anyone in your family ever need it, treatment could begin almost immediately and without time spent searching for a donor.

Expecting parents have several options as they choose what to do with their baby's umbilical cord blood cells: store with private cord blood banks, donate to a public cord blood banks or research institutions, or discard it. There is a general consensus that it is better to save umbilical cord blood, either privately or publicly, than to discard it as "medical waste." In any case, your baby's birth is the only opportunity to collect the stem cells found in the umbilical cord blood.

Public vs. Private Cord Blood Storage

There are two types of cord blood banks: private or family cord blood banks and public cord blood banks. Public stem cell banking advocates affirm that donating your baby's cord blood is for society's best interest by making it available to someone who has an immediate need. Private banking proponents maintain that by storing your baby's cord blood stem cells you are providing your family with a form of insurance in the event that anyone in your family develops a treatable disease. In addition, you will also take advantage of potential future treatments for a variety of diseases such as Diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Public Cord Blood Banking
Public cord blood banks store donated cord blood stem cells that will be available to anyone in need of a stem cell transplant. Cord blood collection for public donation can only be provided at specified hospitals as there are a limited number of public banks in selected locations. This is primarily due to limited funding to maintain public banks. In addition, not all families are eligible to donate cord blood and not all cord blood collections will meet the requirements for public storage. Some of the reasons include family health history, a mothers exposure to viruses, and international travel. If you would like more information about the requirements for public donation, please visit www.marrow.org.

Private Cord Blood Banking
Private cord blood banking, also referred to as family umbilical cord blood banking, provides families with the option to collect and store their baby's cord blood stem cells for their own family's use if ever needed. Whereas donated cordblood stem cells are used for unrelated transplants and research, cord blood stem cells stored with a private bank are available for exclusive use of the family storing those stem cells. The cord blood unit is the property of the baby's parent until the child reaches the age of 18, when it becomes the child's property.

FamilyCord is the only private cord blood bank that offers clients a choice of private umbilical cord blood banking with a public donation "twist", our Public Donation OptionSM. Our Public Donation Option is an elective program combining the best aspects of both private and public cord blood banking. It enables parents to store their baby's cord blood stem cells privately with the option to list their cord blood unit on a donation registry after a minimum of 10 years of private storage. Visit our Public Donation OptionSM page for more information or call a cord blood educator today at 800-490-CORD (2673).