Umbilical Cord Blood Banking | AMA-Code (2024)

FAQs

Is umbilical cord blood banking worth it? ›

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.

Why should I consider saving my baby's cord blood? Cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells that, when used in a procedure called a stem cell transplant, can rebuild the bone marrow and immune system and save the life of a patient with a serious blood disorder such as leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell disease.

Cord blood banking is when your baby's umbilical cord blood is collected and stored after delivery. This cord blood contains valuable stem cells that help treat life-threatening diseases. You can choose to donate to public or private cord blood banks.

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.

If parents choose to store their infant's cord blood in a private bank, a collec- tion fee that ranges from $900 to $2000 and an annual storage fee of approximately $90 to $150 may be required. Fees vary between private banks. How do we decide whether to donate?

The blood can be collected and stored — and that's what many private cord blood banking companies encourage parents to do, in case their child (or someone else in the family) develops one of those diseases in the future. The American Academy of Pediatrics wants parents to collect that cord blood.

After your baby is born, the umbilical cord and placenta are usually thrown away. Because you are choosing to donate, the blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta will be collected and tested. Cord blood that meets standards for transplant will be stored at the public cord blood bank until needed by a patient.

Nonetheless, collection and storage of cord blood raise ethical concerns with regard to patient safety, autonomy, and potential for conflict of interest. In addition, storage of umbilical cord blood in private as opposed to public banks can raise concerns about access to cord blood for transplantation.

Some insurance providers will cover the cost of cord blood banking when collection is medically necessary. For example, depending on the provider, families with a history of leukemia or other blood disorders may be eligible for total or partial coverage of the costs of cord blood collection and storage.

Do Hospitals Keep Placentas? Hospitals treat placentas as medical waste or biohazard material. The newborn placenta is placed in a biohazard bag for storage. Some hospitals keep the placenta for a period of time in case the need arises to send it to pathology for further analysis.

How many years should you bank cord blood? ›

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.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics don't recommend routine cord blood storage. The groups say private banks should be used only when there's a sibling with a medical condition who could benefit from the stem cells.

Newborn babies normally leave the hospital with the stump of their umbilical cord still attached. Between five and 15 days after the baby's birth, it will dry out, turn black and drop off. Some parents decide to keep the remainder of the cord as a keepsake and store it in a special box or scrapbook.

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.

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.

Choices for storing cord blood

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. These storage spaces are referred to as "banks." The facility you choose should be accredited through the American Association of Blood Banks.

Results of related cord blood transplants for children with malignancies have been summarized by Eurocord. In 147 patients, most with acute leukemia, the cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery was 90%, and the incidences of acute and chronic GVHD were 12% and 10% at 2 years, respectively.