Information

By Cord Blood Advisor • June 29th, 2009

A Cord Blood bank can be both a private and public institution that stores umbilical Cord Blood for future use to combat diseases and genetic disorders. These banks were developed in the mid 1990’s as result of the success in treating blood diseases and immune system disorders with the use of Cord Blood transplants. Once [...]

It is very important that parents who choose to donate their child’s Cord Blood go through an “informed” consent process. Federal law requires that parents sign a consent form before Cord Blood is collected. Ideally, the consent form should reveal the possible final uses of the Cord Blood. There are also medical requirements for donation.
In [...]

Sibling that currently needs a transplant
Sibling that may need a future transplant
Other family member that may need a future transplant

(1) Sibling that currently needs a transplant: If an older sibling currently needs a transplant, most medical insurance carriers, even Medicaid, will cover the cost of collecting Cord Blood. (2) Sibling that may need a future [...]

diseases which require transplantation of blood Stem Cells are still rare, although the list of diseases amenable to such treatment is steadily growing. They are very rare among children and become more common in adults.
Banked Cord Blood only provides insurance for so long as the frozen cells are still viable. So far, research has confirmed [...]

Advantages of Cord Blood Transplants -versus- Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) or Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC)

Harvesting umbilical Cord Blood poses no risk to mother or child, whereas a bone marrow donor must undergo anesthesia and is exposed to the risk of infection.
Umbilical Cord Blood can be stored in cryogenic freezers, ready for [...]

In private banks, parents pay the bank to preserve the Cord Blood for family use. The family owns the Cord Blood and can decide how it is used. In this website, the phrases “private bank” and “family bank” mean the same thing. When you donate to a public bank, you sign away all ownership of [...]

To further protect Cord Blood cells against the formation of ice crystals, it is important that the cells freeze slowly. This is done in a special controlled-rate freezer, and then the blood is transfered to long-term storage. The final storage temperature should remain stable at -196 C. Freezers and handling procedures are designed [...]

United States Congressman Chris Smith helped pass legislation to promote the use and research into generating Stem Cells from Cord Blood. The bill was called the “Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005,” which authorized $265 million for bone marrow and umbilical cord treatment along with Stem Cell therapy.
The bill was later signed into [...]

Since Cord Blood banking is still in it’s developing stages and with the progressing issues in both public and private Cord Blood banking, it will be some time before Cord Blood banking is an established practice. Right now, the biggest concern in both the public and private banking establishments is the long term viability of [...]

Once collection of the Cord Blood is completed, it must be immediately shipped to a Cord Blood bank, either private or public. Once the Cord Blood arrives at the cord blood bank, it is inspected for infections and technicians there examine the tissue type. Once that is completed, the cord blood goes through processing where [...]