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In this column, we will present basic but useful information to all those interested in saving umbilical cord blood from their children or those who are interested in such stored blood for transplant purposes. Previous columns are available in our archive.

First Steps – Getting Educated

When a family decides to have cord blood saved, the first step is to gather as much information as possible about the cord blood preservation process. We usually recommend contacting a company like Cryo-Cell so that an information packet can be received. There are many educational videos available that provide general information about how to go about saving cord blood. However, the most important part of the process is actually the initial collection. From this discussion, it will become plainly obvious why the collection process is so important.

In many cities, there actually are hospitals and practice staff who are quite experienced collecting umbilical cord blood/placental blood. It is at those places where women should initially go to seek further information about the collection process. Many obstetricians and midwives participate in cord blood collection processes and have received training or have practiced the technique on many occasions so that they are quite expert. Again, the personal physician or midwife of a pregnant woman would be the most important source of information. However, there are some obstetricians and midwives who have not actively participated in the process of collecting umbilical cord blood and thus may refer the woman to alternate sources of information or other health professionals.

 

How the Collection Process Works

The collection process on the surface seems very simple. At the time the baby is delivered, the umbilical cord is clamped or tied about two inches from the abdominal surface. A small portion of the umbilical cord is then left intact hanging from the baby's belly but this will dry up and shrivel off within about a week to 10 days. Usually the stump of the umbilical cord which is left attached is painted with an iodine type of substance or another substance that has antibacterial activity to prevent it from getting infected.

The two feet or more of remaining umbilical cord is attached to the placenta or the afterbirth. The placenta or afterbirth is the organ which the baby makes to attach to the inside of the mother's uterus. It is through the placenta that oxygen and other nutrients are transferred from the mother to the baby and waste products and carbon dioxide are then transferred from the baby back to the mother, who eliminates them from her body.

In the process of collection, a needle is inserted into one or more of the blood vessels in the umbilical cord and blood is then quickly drained using a bag or syringe technique. Sometimes, there are alternate methods of collecting umbilical cord blood. These alternate methods include putting the placenta attached to the umbilical cord on a high shelf so that blood will then drain down from the placenta through the inserted needle into the collection bag.

As most people know, when blood is exposed to air, it begins to clot. The same thing happens when the umbilical cord is clamped and cut and the placenta or afterbirth is delivered. There is a window of opportunity available to collect the blood before it clots. The blood is not good for use if it is already clotted. Thus, most of the time, there is a 5-10 minute window of opportunity to collect the umbilical cord blood once the baby has been delivered.

The amount of blood that is collected from the umbilical cord and the placenta typically directly relates to the number of stem cells which are there. The purpose of collecting the umbilical cord blood or the placental blood is to collect as many of the stem cells as possible. The stem cells are rather concentrated in the cord blood and thus the more blood that is collected, the more stem cells that will be available for later use. It turns out that the more stem cells that are frozen may actually relate to the usefulness of a product at a later time. Thus, it is quite important to find the most skilled people available to do the collection because they are the ones who are more likely to get the best possible collections.

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