Cord Blood FAQs

What is Cord Blood?

Cord blood is the remaining blood from your baby's umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Cord blood is loaded with our "stem cells" which are origins of the body's immune and blood system and may be the origin of other organs and important systems in the body. Stem cells are important because they have the ability to regenerate into other types of cells in the body.

Harvesting and banking cord blood is a fairly simple procedure that can be performed during vaginal or cesarean deliveries without interrupting the birth process. The doctor or nurse will collect the cord blood after the umbilical cord has been clamped. The collection of cord blood is not painful, intrusive or risky to the mother or baby.

A few years ago, cord blood was simply discarded as medical waste after a birth. However in the past few years doctors have recognized that the stem cells have unique qualities which can be used in treatment of certain cancers. The most common medical use is for transplantation in many situations where bone marrow is considered. In the future, it is possible that scientists will discover more diseases that can be cured with cord blood.

Why should I bank my babies Cord Blood?

• It might, just might save your baby's or another family member's life at some point in the future
• You will only have one chance to bank your baby's cord blood; the moment immediately after birth.
• The cord blood collection process is simple, painless, and harmless to the baby and mother.
• 30%-70% of people who need bone marrow transplants can not find a match. Finding a proper match is especially problematic for African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and people of mixed ethnicity. By banking your baby's stem cells, the odds of having a proper match for the baby or another family member improve.
• Especially beneficial if a family member has a condition that can be treated with a stem cell transplant, such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, aplastic anemia, leukemia, metabolic storage disorders and certain genetic immunodeficiencies.
• Future medical advances might allow stem cells to treat even more diseases and be used in more transplant cases than current medical practices.

Why should I not bank my babies Cord Blood?

• High Costs: At Viacord, for example, the price begins at $1550 at birth, plus $150 for a courier to deliver the blood, plus $95 dollars for storage a year. At these prices, that will cost you $2840 by the time your baby is 21.
• Given the difficulty in estimating the need for using ones own cord blood cells for transplantation, private storage of cord blood as "biological insurance" is unwise. No accurate estimates exist of the likelihood of children to need their own stored cells. The range of available estimates is from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 200,000.
• If cord clamping is done too soon after birth, the infant may be deprived of a placental blood transfusion, resulting in lower blood volume and increased risk for anemia later in life.
• Extra emotional stress for the parents.

Are there any risks to donating cord blood?

Donating cord blood is medically safe. Donating poses no health risks to you or your baby. Donating does not affect your baby or your birth experience because the cord blood is collected after your baby is born. If you or your baby experience any complications during delivery, your doctor will not collect the cord blood.

Does it cost me anything to donate cord blood?

There is no cost for donating for public use. Unrelated donor cord blood banks will take care of the procedure and cover the cost of processing and storing your baby's cord blood unit. However, parents also have the option of storing cord blood exclusively for use within their own family for a fee. Several banks in the United States will collect and store cord blood reserved for private use.

Should I store the cord blood or donate it?

Donating your child's cord blood or storing it for private use is a personal decision that only you can make. If you have a child with leukemia or other disease that may be treatable by transplant and you are pregnant, talk with your oncologist or pediatrician about saving your baby's cord blood.

Families may feel a great deal of pressure from the promotions and advertisements they receive from the for-profit private storage cord blood banks.

Where can I donate cord blood?

If you are interested, or someone you know is interested, in donating cord blood, look for a Cord Blood Bank or collecting hospital within or close to your community. There are only a small number of cord blood banks in the United States, so donation to a local bank is not possible in many areas.

What will happen to my child's cord blood if I donate it?

After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the link between the baby and the placenta. The small amount of blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord, typically three to five fluid ounces, is drained and taken to a cord blood bank where the unit is processed and samples are sent for tests. To be stored, the cord blood unit must meet these standards:

• The unit must be large enough.
• The maternal and family health history must meet eligibility guidelines.
• Tests of the cord blood unit and the mother's blood sample must show no signs of infection or other possible problems.
• If the unit meets these standards, it is frozen and stored in a liquid nitrogen freezer. The cord blood unit is then listed on the NMDP's Registry, where it will be searched for a matching recipient and then transplanted.

Who has access to the donated cord blood?

Once the donated cord blood is processed and stored at the Cord Blood Bank, it is listed on the NMDP Registry and available to patients all over the world who are searching for a match. The cord blood can be transplanted into any patient whose doctor selects the cord as a match for that patient.

How long can cord blood be stored before it expires?

Studies have shown good cord blood cell recovery after up to ten years of storage. Studies are ongoing to determine the storage life of cord blood units.

How soon should I notify the cord blood bank or my doctor?

It is recommended that someone who is interested in donating contact the cord blood bank by the 34th week of pregnancy.

Is cord blood donation confidential?

Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and cord blood transplant recipient. The identity of the cord blood donor is kept confidential at the cord blood bank.

What types of diseases can be treated with Cord Blood?

Acute Leukemias, Chronic Leukemias, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Stem Cell Disorders, Myeloproliferative Disorders, Lymphoproliferative Disorders, Phagocyte Disorders, Liposomal Storage Diseases, Histiocytic Disorders, Inherited Erythrocyte Abnormalities, Congenital (Inherited) Immune System Disorders, Other Inherited Disorders, Inherited Platelet Abnormalities, Plasma Cell Disorders, Autoimmune Diseases, Brain Tumors, Ewing Sarcoma, Neuroblastoma, Ovarian Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Small-Cell Lung Cancer, Testicular Cancer.

What is the NMDP?

The National Marrow Donor Program® is a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minn., that facilitates marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients who do not have a matched donor in their family.