Once we have stored cord blood for our family, how long should we keep it? (2024)

FAQs

Once we have stored cord blood for our family, how long should we keep it? ›

No one is certain how long cord blood lasts. Some experts believe it can be stored for 21 years or more. You have two choices for storing cord blood: public storage or private storage.

Doctors do not recommend that you bank cord blood on the slight chance that your baby will need stem cells someday. If your baby were to need stem cells, he or she would probably need stem cells from someone else rather than his or her own stem cells.

Myth: Stored cord blood has a limited “shelf-life.” Fact: Theoretically, properly frozen and stored cord blood may remain useful for a lifetime. This isn't known for certain, however, because cord blood banking has existed for fewer than 30 years.

A newborn's cord blood can be used by other family members, including siblings, parents, and grandparents. The child's blood type does not need to match the grandparent's for the cord blood to be used. Instead, as long as the recipient is a qualifying HLA match to the child, the cord blood is safe to use.

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 be useful for only 15 years.

How does umbilical cord blood help save lives? Umbilical cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells, which can renew themselves and differentiate into other types of cells. Stem cells are used in transplants for patients with cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.

Usually, the umbilical cord and placenta are discarded after birth. If a mother chooses to have her cord blood collected, the health care team will do so after the baby is born. With a sterile needle, they'll draw the blood from the umbilical vessels into a collection bag.

When test results are received, units suitable for transfusion are labeled and stored. Red cells are stored in refrigerators at 6ºC for up to 42 days. Platelets are stored at room temperature in agitators for up to five days.

Cord blood contains cells called hematopoietic stem cells. These cells can turn into any kind of blood cell and can be used for transplants that can cure diseases such as blood disorders, immune deficiencies, metabolic diseases, and some kinds of cancers. Research is revealing more and more ways it can save lives.

Can siblings use each other's cord blood? ›

Cord blood banking is as much for the baby as it is for existing and future additions to the family. This is because there is not only an opportunity for the baby to use his or her own cord blood but also an increased chance it can be used by a brother, sister or other immediate family member.

Cord blood is rich in blood-forming cells that can be used in transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and many other life-threatening diseases. It can be especially useful for transplant patients from ethnically diverse backgrounds who often have difficulty finding a transplant match.

If you decide to store your cord blood at a private bank, make sure you know all the costs associated with it. Private cord blood banking is useful if your baby has a biological sibling or family member that could benefit from cord blood. In most instances, your baby can't use their own cord blood.

Physician organizations don't typically recommend storing cord blood as a standard. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doesn't recommend that parents routinely store their infants' umbilical cord blood for future use — unless there's an immediate medical need for that blood to be used for a sibling.

Typically the umbilical cord and placenta are discarded after your baby is born—unless you decide otherwise. You can choose to have your baby's cord blood collected and donated to a public cord blood bank, stored in a family (private) cord blood bank, or saved for a biological sibling who has a diagnosed medical need.

Over the decades since then, Broxmeyer's laboratory has demonstrated that cryopreserved cord blood is still viable after 5, 10, 15, and 23.5 years in frozen storage.

Cord blood banking can help someone, including someone in your immediate family, in need of stem cells. Stem cells can be found in your baby's cord blood. Stem cells from cord blood have been shown to help treat many life-threatening conditions like cancer.

The umbilical cord is usually thrown away after birth. But the blood inside the cord can be saved, or banked, for possible later use. The blood is drawn from the umbilical cord after the cord has been clamped and cut. Cord blood banks freeze the cord blood for storage.

Around 5 percent of parents choose to bank their baby's cord blood publicly or privately. Learn about the different cord blood centers and options you can consider before delivery.