Umbilical Cord Blood Banking

What is Cord Blood and Cryo-Cell’s Umbilical Cord Blood Banking service?

Umbilical cord blood is the blood that remains in the vein of the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth. Cord blood is rich in stem cells and Cryo-Cell’s umbilical cord blood service collects processes and cryogenically preserves these cells for potential medical use. Umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used to treat nearly 80 diseases with over 25,000 transplants worldwide. What is cord blood banking – it’s your investment in your child’s possible future medical needs.

Why should I have my newborn’s Umbilical Cord Blood collected and preserved?

Since cord blood has an abundance of stem cells, they can easily be collected and cryopreserved in case they are needed later in life. Stem cell treatments and transplants have already been used for a wide range of diseases and conditions such as cancers (including lymphoma and leukemia) and inherited metabolic disorders. Research for future uses of stem cells, such as the treatment of diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cerebral palsy, holds great promise. Often, matched stem cells necessary for transplants are difficult to obtain through public cord blood banks; however, cells taken from your newborn’s umbilical cord blood are a perfect match for your baby’s lifetime. In addition, stem cell technologies are evolving, which is likely to increase the utilization of preserved specimens in the future.

What does this mean for the other children in my family?

Statistics show that there is a greater chance for success in a stem cell transplant between siblings than with unrelated donors and recipients. There is also a reduced likelihood of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD), which is a major complication of stem cell transplants. If you are planning on having additional children, we strongly suggest you consider this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What makes cord blood stem cells more usable than bone marrow?

First, cord blood stem cells are easily extracted, resulting in no risk or pain for the mother or baby. Alternatively, bone marrow collection is an invasive procedure and requires general anesthesia with its inherent risks. Also, cord blood stem cells have a high rate of engraftment, are more tolerant of HLA mismatches, result in a reduced rate of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD) and are rarely contaminated with a latent virus—which simply means that the body often accepts cord blood stem cells better than those from bone marrow. Plus, cord blood stem cells are readily accessible, allowing treatment to begin earlier if required, with no time wasted in the search and matching process required for publicly banked stem cells. And lastly, stem cell cord blood banking with Cryo-Cell, requires no cost to retrieve your baby’s stored stem cells if they are needed for transplant.

Click here for Cord Blood/Cord Tissue Brochure