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Cord Blood Banking - Cord Blood

Cord Blood

and Stem Cell Banking

Cord Blood Banking

mother and baby illustration

How Cord Blood Banking Works

Cord blood banking was begun in the late 1990s to begin collecting the valuable stem cells in cord blood, which before then was simply discarded. With so many childbirths occurring daily, cord blood is an abundant and highly available source of stem cells, yet even today this valuable resource is still being thrown away.

The cord blood bank supplies the expectant mother with a collection kit, which she provides to the obstetrician. After the baby is born, the umbilical cord connecting the placenta to the baby is clamped and cut. After the well-being of both mother and infant are confirmed, the obstetrician can drain the blood from the foetal end of the umbilical cord into the collection bags, typically within ten minutes of birth. Alternatively, the placenta and umbilical cord can also be transported to a sterile lab for the cord blood to be collected by a qualified technician or physician. Some cord blood banks also collect the umbilical cord tissue, as this may also have stem cells of medical interest.

After collection, the cord blood is placed in a shipping container, and a courier picks up the container for transport to the cord blood bank. In order to be useful, the cord blood collected must have a minimum volume of 75 millilitres. This will ensure that enough stem cells will be collected from the cord blood.

Before storage and processing, the cord blood and maternal blood samples are first subjected to tests to rule out the presence of blood-borne pathogens, such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C, as well as to determine its tissue type.

After testing, the cord blood is processed to extract the useful cells and tissues. Processes may vary between laboratories, with some laboratories extracting and discarding red blood cells, and others keeping them intact. A cryopreservant is added to the blood so that the cells will survive cryopreservation. Upon cooling under careful conditions, the cells in the cord blood are frozen without damage to their cellular structure. The blood is kept at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius, a level which will keep the cells viable for many years.

Public and Private Cord Blood Banking UK

There are both public and private cord blood banks in the UK. The main distinction between the public and private cord blood banks is that the public cord blood bank accepts cord blood for use by the general public, while private cord blood banks preserve an individual cord blood collection for use by a specific client. The public cord blood banks accept donations from anyone and in turn provide the cord blood to anyone in need.

A mother who donates to public banks loses ownership or rights to use the cord blood and cannot retrieve her own donation. If the family of the donor needs cord blood for their own medical purposes, they will be able to use any cord blood in the public bank that is a biological match to the patient, which will generally not be their own sample. Public cord blood banks do not charge for collection, transport, or storage of cord blood.

The most prestigious public blood bank in London is the National Health Service (NHS) Cord Blood Bank, which sources its cord blood donations specifically from these public health facilities: Barnet General Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Watford General Hospital, and St. George’s Hospital. These hospitals have personnel who are especially trained in extracting cord blood safely.

In contrast to the public institutions, private cord blood banks store blood with a direct link to the donor’s identity. This enables the family or relatives of the mother to access the same cord blood units they donated, if the need should arise. Parents have custody and guaranteed availability of the cord blood. Furthermore, ownership of the cord blood may be transferred to the child when he or she comes of age. For this service, private banks usually charge an average annual fee of £1,000 per unit. The fee usually includes collection, courier service, processing, and testing. There is also typically an annual storage fee that must be paid to store the cord blood in the cryogenic state for long term viability.

In addition to the collection, processing and cryogenic storage of cord blood, the cord blood banks also perform retrieval, processing, and transport of cord blood cells from storage to the medical facility who will use them. Another important activity of some of the larger cord blood banks is clinical research in developing new treatments using cord blood stem cells. This activity is one of the reasons why public donation of cord blood is highly encouraged, since this increases the number of cord blood units available for both research and treatment at institutions like the NHS.