While donating cord blood is honorable, there is a lot people do not know about the public option. Most public cord blood banks have a limited number of collection sites, and they only retain a small number of collections because of volume and other criteria that must be met. Once cord blood is donated, it is highly unlikely that the donation can ever be attained by the donor or his or her family if the need arises. In addition, it may be hard to find another viable match from what is publically available. While donating is free, retreiving a cord blood sample from a public cord blood bank is not and pales in comparison to the overall cost of privately banking cord blood. These are just some of the reasons why privately banking cord blood may be a better option for some families.
Umbilical cord blood contains haematopoietic (blood) stem cells. These cells are able to make the different types of cell in the blood – red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Haematopoietic stem cells, purified from bone marrow or blood, have long been used in stem cell treatments for leukaemia, blood and bone marrow disorders, cancer (when chemotherapy is used) and immune deficiencies.
As cord blood is inter-related to cord blood banking, it is often a catch-all term used for the various cells that are stored. It may be surprising for some parents to learn that stored cord blood contains little of what people think of as “blood,” as the red blood cells (RBCs) can actually be detrimental to a cord blood treatment. (As we’ll discuss later, one of the chief goals of cord blood processing is to greatly reduce the volume of red blood cells in any cord blood collection.)
Founded in 1992, CBR has stored more than 600,000 cord blood and cord tissue collections from 3,500 hospitals in over 100 countries and partnered with institutions to establish multiple FDA-regulated clinical trials. CBR has helped more than 400 families use their cord blood stem cells for established and experimental medical treatments, more than any other family cord blood bank. CBR’s goal is to expand the potential scope of newborn stem cell therapies that may be available to patients and their families.
Fortunately, those odds should improve soon. In 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act, which provides $79 million in federal funding to create a centralized cord-blood registry much like the one that exists for bone marrow. The goal is to expand the existing inventory of 45,000 donated cord-blood units to 150,000.
Medical staff at the public cord blood bank will check to see if you can donate. If you have had a disease that can be given to another person through blood-forming cells, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV (the AIDS virus), you will likely not be able to donate. However, other medical reasons may still allow you to donate, for example, hepatitis A or diabetes only during your pregnancy (gestational diabetes). The staff at the public cord blood bank will tell you.
In the rare event of a processed sample not adhering to quality standards, CBR’s certified genetic counselors will work with potential clients to help them understand their options. Under this scenario, clients will have the option to discontinue storage and receive a refund.
Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®) is the world’s largest newborn stem cell company. Founded in 1992, CBR is entrusted by parents with storing samples from more than 600,000 children. CBR is dedicated to advancing the clinical application of cord blood and cord tissue stem cells by partnering with institutions to establish FDA-regulated clinical trials for conditions that have no cure today.
Use for Donor Clients can rest assured knowing their cord blood is available if needed. Always available if needed. Donors may never find the stem cells donated if ever needed because of the following:
Donating cord blood to a public cord blood bank involves talking with your doctor or midwife about your decision to donate and then calling a cord blood bank (if donation can be done at your hospital). Upon arriving at the hospital, tell the labor and delivery nurse that you are donating umbilical cord blood.
Since the first successful sibling-to-sibling cord-blood stem-cell transplant was performed in 1988 to treat a genetic disorder called Fanconi’s anemia, more than 20 private banks have opened. And they seem to have the address of every expectant couple in America — whose mailboxes bulge with brochures encouraging them to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Cord-blood banking is like insurance to protect your family against unforeseeable events,” says Stephen Grant, cofounder and senior vice president of Cord Blood Registry, a large California-based private bank. “You do it out of love and responsibility for your family. Sure, you hope you’ll never have to use the blood, but if you do, it’ll be there.”
Private (commercial) cord banks will store the donated blood for use by the donor and family members only. They can be expensive. These banks charge a fee for processing and an annual fee for storage.
Are there situations where private cord blood banking might make sense? Some parents choose to bank their child’s blood if they don’t know his or her medical background — for instance, if a parent was adopted or the child was conceived with a sperm or egg donor.
If you’re thinking about banking your baby’s cord blood stem cells, one question you’ve probably considered is whether to choose a private or public cord blood bank. As with any major decision in your life, it pays to do your research so you can make the best choice for your family about the future of your baby’s cord blood.
CBR collection kits have been designed to shield the samples from extreme temperatures (shielding for more than 1 hour at extreme hot and cold). Samples remain at room temperature and are shipped directly to the CBR lab for processing.
#AutismAwarenessMonth Watch as Dr. Michael Chez discusses results of a recently published trial studying #cordblood as a potential treatment for autism and learn how CBR clients are helping to advance newborn stem cell science! pic.twitter.com/nOwBJGpy6A
When Tracey and Victor Dones’s 4-month-old son was diagnosed with osteopetrosis, a potentially fatal disorder that affects bone formation, the panic-stricken couple was relieved to hear that a stem-cell transplant could save his life. “We’d paid to store Anthony’s umbilical-cord blood in a private bank in case he ever needed it — and I thought we were so smart for having had the foresight to do that,” says Tracey.
The European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) has also adopted a position on the ethical aspects of umbilical cord blood banking. The EGE is of the opinion that “support for public cord blood banks for allogeneic transplantations should be increased and long term functioning should be assured.” They further stated that “the legitimacy of commercial cord blood banks for autologous use should be questioned as they sell a service which has presently no real use regarding therapeutic options.”
Upon arrival at CBR’s laboratory, the kit is immediately checked in and inspected. Next, the cord blood unit is tested for sterility, viability, and cell count. In addition, the cord tissue is tested for sterility. CBR processes cord blood using the AutoXpress® Platform* (AXP®) – a fully automated, functionally closed stem cell processing technology. The AXP platform is an integral component of CBR’s proprietary CellAdvantage® system. CBR has the industry’s highest published average cell recovery rate of 99%.
There are no health risks related to cord blood collection. Cord blood is retrieved from the umbilical cord after it has been cut, thus preventing any pain, discomfort, or harm. This process is completely safe.
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The stored blood can’t always be used, even if the person develops a disease later on, because if the disease was caused by a genetic mutation, it would also be in the stem cells. Current research says the stored blood may only be useful for 15 years.
Preserving stem cells does not guarantee that the saved stem cells will be applicable for every situation. Ultimate use will be determined by a physician. Please note: Americord Registry’s activities are limited to collection of umbilical cord tissue from autologous donors. Americord Registry’s possession of a New York State license for such collection does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of cells derived from umbilical cord tissue.
Generally not. The reason siblings are more likely to match is because they get half of their HLA markers from each parent. Based on the way parents pass on genes, there is a 25 percent chance that two siblings will be a whole match, a 50 percent chance they will be a half match, and a 25 percent chance that they will not be a match at all. It is very rare for a parent to be a match with their own child, and even more rare for a grandparent to be a match.
In fact, the AAP does encourage parents to keep their child’s cord blood if a family member has already been diagnosed with a stem-cell-treatable disease. But a family won’t have to foot the bill: The Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, in California, will bank a baby’s cord blood for free if a family member needs it at the time of the baby’s birth. Some private banks, such as Cord Blood Registry, Cryo-Cell, and ViaCord, have similar programs.
However, parents should know that a child’s own cord blood (stored at birth), would rarely be suitable for a transplant today. It could not be used at present to treat genetic diseases, for example, because the cord blood stem cells carry the same affected genes and. if transplanted, would confer the same condition to the recipient. (See the story of Anthony Dones.) In addition, most transplant physicians would not use a child’s own cord blood to treat leukemia. There are two reasons why the child’s own cord blood is not safe as a transplant source. First, in most cases of childhood leukemia, cells carrying the leukemic mutation are already present at birth and can be demonstrated in the cord blood. Thus, pre-leukemic cells may be given back with the transplant, since there is no effective way to remove them (purge) today. Second, in a child with leukemia, the immune system has already failed to prevent leukemia. Since cord blood from the same child re-establishes the child’s own immune system, doctors fear it would have a poor anti-leukemia effect.
As noted, there are different ways to process cord blood, and although the type of processing method doesn’t always enter the conversation on cord blood banking, it is a big part of the purity of any cord blood collection. Red blood cells can have a negative impact on a cord blood transfusion. In addition, there is a certain number of stem cells that need to be present in order for the cord blood to be effective in disease treatment. Each processing method has the ability to better reduce the number of RBCs and capture more stem cells. Some processing methods like AutoXpress and Sepax are automated to ensure a level of consistency across all collections. HES is preferred by some banks because it was the original processing method used by most banks and it has a proven track record. You can read more about the different cord blood processing methods here.
If you make a donation to a public cord blood bank, you can’t reserve it for your family, so it may not be available for your future use. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Medical Association (AMA) recommend public cord blood banking over private cord blood banking. Here’s why:
Cord blood (short for umbilical cord blood) is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta post-delivery. At or near term, there is a maternal–fetal transfer of cells to boost the immune systems of both the mother and baby in preparation for labor. This makes cord blood at the time of delivery a rich source of stem cells and other cells of the immune system. Cord blood banking is the process of collecting the cord blood and extracting and cryogenically freezing its stem cells and other cells of the immune system for potential future medical use.
Why should you consider donating the cord blood to a public bank? Simply because, besides bringing a new life into the world, you could be saving an individual whose best chance at life is a stem cell transplant with your baby’s donated cord blood. This can only happen if you donate and if your baby is a close enough match for a patient in need. If you chose to reserve the cord blood for your family, then siblings who have the same parents have a 25% chance of being an exact match.
If you are interested in donating cord blood to a public bank and do not have access to a hospital that accepts cord blood donations, you can contact a lab that offers a mail-in program. After you’ve passed the lab’s eligibility screening process, they’ll send you a kit that you can use to package and mail in your cord blood.2
 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hematology/Oncology, American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Allergy/Immunology, Bertram H. Lubin, and William T. Shearer, “Cord Blood Banking for Potential Future Transplantation,” Pediatrics 119 (2007): 165-170.
nbiased and factual information. The Foundation educates parents, health professionals and the general public about the need to preserve this valuable medical resource while providing information on both public cord blood donation programs and private family cord blood banks worldwide. Learn more about our global community.
Checked to make sure it has enough blood-forming cells for a transplant. (If there are too few cells, the cord blood unit may be used for research to improve the transplant process for future patients or to investigate new therapies using cord blood, or discarded.)
Access Immediately available once a match is confirmed. Search and match process may take weeks or months; ultimately, a match may not be located. Immediately available upon HLA match May take weeks or months; no match may be found
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2009 issue of Dignitas, the Center’s quarterly publication. Subscriptions to Dignitas are available to CBHD Members. To learn more about the benefits of becoming a member click here.
With public cord blood banks, there’s a greater chance that your cord blood will be put to use because it could be given to any child or adult in need, says William T. Shearer, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Pediatrics and Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Cord blood is donated and is put on a national registry, to be made available for any transplant patient. So if your child should need the cord blood later in life, there’s no guarantee you would be able to get it back.
Compare costs and services for saving umbilical cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta tissue stem cells. Americord’s® highest quality cord blood banking, friendly customer service, and affordable pricing have made us a leader in the industry.
In order to preserve more types and quantity of umbilical cord stem cells and to maximize possible future health options, Cryo-Cell’s umbilical cord tissue service provides expectant families with the opportunity to cryogenically store their newborn’s umbilical cord tissue cells contained within substantially intact cord tissue. Should umbilical cord tissue cells be considered for potential utilization in a future therapeutic application, further laboratory processing may be necessary. Regarding umbilical cord tissue, all private blood banks’ activities for New York State residents are limited to collection, processing, and long-term storage of umbilical cord tissue stem cells. The possession of a New York State license for such collection, processing and long-term storage does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of these cells.
Blood from the umbilical cord and placenta is put into a sterile bag. (The blood is put into the bag either before or after the placenta is delivered, depending upon the procedure of the cord blood bank.)
Current applications for newborn stem cells include treatments for certain cancers and blood, metabolic and immune disorders. Additionally, newborn stem cell preservation has a great potential to benefit the newborn’s immediate family members with stem cell samples preserved in their most pristine state.
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After birth, your baby no longer needs the umbilical cord or placenta. But the blood that remains could be a lifesaver for a patient who needs it, including a member of your own family. That’s because this blood is rich with blood-forming stem cells. As with bone marrow transplants, these cells can be transplanted and help save the lives of patients with leukemia or other life-threatening diseases.
Currently, ViaCord has released the most cord blood units for medical transplant and has the highest cord blood transplant survival rate among companies who have disclosed complete transplant data. The one-year survival rate of patients who were treated with ViaCord cord blood units is 88%, and the long-term patient survival rate is 82%.1
There are over 130 public cord blood banks in 35 countries. They are regulated by Governments and adhere to internationally agreed standards regarding safety, sample quality and ethical issues. In the UK, several NHS facilities within the National Blood Service harvest and store altruistically donated umbilical cord blood. Trained staff, working separately from those providing care to the mother and newborn child, collect the cord blood. The mother may consent to donate the blood for research and/or clinical use and the cord blood bank will make the blood available for use as appropriate.
Cord Blood Registry offers two ways to save your newborn’s stem cells, and convenient payment options to fit your family’s needs. CBR recognizes that each family’s budget is unique. As a result, CBR does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing and payments for cord blood and tissue banking. Calculate your stem cell banking costs and CBR will recommend payment plans that may fit your family’s budget.