ViaCord Blog | ViaCord (2024)

FAQs

What is the success rate of ViaCord? ›

ViaCord is the only bank to process and store stem cells from both cord blood and cord tissue in a 5-compartment bag. ViaCord is the only family bank to publish short and long-term survival rates – 88% at 1 year.

ViaCord has been a leader in the cord blood banking industry for over 25 years and offers families quality, innovation and trust. Over 500 customers have used their stem cells stored with ViaCord for a transplant or regenerative medicine research.

We're happy to report another long-term storage study suggests - yes! A recent study published in Stem Cell Translational Medicine (Sep 2023) found cryopreserving cord blood stem cells for extended periods (27 years in this case!) doesn't affect their ability to function effectively.

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.

The change or cancellation fee is $150.

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.

The storage fee for cord blood and cord tissue is $350 per year. Because each family is different (i.e. banking for one child or twins, cord blood and cord tissue or cord blood only), the cost of banking can vary. You can determine which plan is best for your family by using ViaCord's convenient pricing calculator.

Some disadvantages of cord blood banking include the following: Cord blood does not contain many stem cells, which means that adults needing a transplant will require cord blood stem cells from multiple donors. People have to pay a fee for storing cord blood in a private bank, which could prove costly.

PerkinElmer

Revvity Holdings, Inc.

What cancers can cord blood treat? ›

Umbilical cord blood has an important and growing role in the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening diseases. Cord blood is one of three sources of blood-forming cells used in transplants. The other two sources are bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.

According to Cell Trials Data, a provider of data on clinical trials of advances cell therapy, cord blood banking rates are highest in the US, at 3% of births each year.

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.

Tax-deductible

Out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of a filer's income are eligible for a tax deduction, and cord blood banking can contribute to that figure so long as it is, again, shown that the medical expenses were part of a proven treatment for an existing or imminent condition.

The umbilical cord fluid is loaded with stem cells. They can treat cancer, blood diseases like anemia, and some immune system disorders, which disrupt your body's ability to defend itself. The fluid is easy to collect and has 10 times more stem cells than those collected from bone marrow.

The chances that your baby or a family member may need to use your stored cord blood are very low -- about 1 in 2700. Private cord blood banks must register with the FDA, but they don't have to follow the same standards and safety measures as public cord blood banks.

Results: Among 78 recipients of cord blood from related donors, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of survival at one year was 63 percent. Younger age, lower weight, transplants from HLA-identical donors, and cytomegalovirus-negative serologic results in the recipient were favorable prognostic factors.