Cord blood banking is an option that new parents might want to consider to safeguard the health future of their children. The procedure involves collecting blood from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby and extracting stem cells from it. The cord banking costs for storing these long-term for potential future medical use are generally in the affordable range, with some of the leading cord blood banks charging $19.99/month.

Frequently asked questions about cord blood:

Before investing in cord blood banking, you should get well informed about cord blood, stem cells, stem cell preservation, and cord banking costs. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions:

What is cord blood?

The blood obtained from the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of a baby is known as cord blood. Since this blood has a high content of stem cells, it is useful from the medical point of view. Currently, it is possible to use stem cells in medical procedures to treat over 80 health conditions.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that occur in small numbers in adult bone marrow, adult fat, and other adult tissues. They are also present in three to five days old embryos and the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. They are the only cells in the body that can generate various other cells. Stem cells can replicate to form new stem cells and differentiate to form cells with specialized functions. The specialized cells that can develop from stem cells include blood cells, bone cells, heart muscle cells, and brain cells.

What is the process of collecting cord blood?

After you register with a cord blood bank and get an eligibility assessment, it will provide you will a cord blood collection kit. A doctor or nurse at the hospital can use this kit to extract the cord blood from the umbilical cord right after the birth of your baby. There is no pain involved for you or your baby in the extraction since the umbilical cord will be clamped and detached at this point.

The cord blood collected by injection from the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells. While these are similar to the stem cells present in the bone marrow of adults, it is easier to extract the stem cells from the cord blood than from the bone marrow. Additionally, the cord blood stem cells are younger and have better potential to replicate themselves and differentiate to form other types of cells.

How is cord blood stored in a cord blood bank?

A representative from the cord blood bank will pick up the bag containing the collected cord blood from the hospital and transport it to the cord blood bank. The bank will use premium technologies to process the cord blood and extract the stem cells. It will then freeze and store the stem cells using cryogenic technology.

How many years can you store stem cells in a cord blood bank?

Cord blood banks have frozen cord blood cryogenically and stored it for up to 30 years and more. It may be possible to store and keep the stem cells viable for longer than that, perhaps even infinitely. However since cord blood banking is a relatively new phenomenon, there are no scientific studies available beyond the mentioned periods. The cord banking costs can differ depending on how long you want to store the stem cells.

Who can use the stored stem cells, and for what purpose?

The stem cells extracted from the newborn’s cord blood are useful for treating health conditions in siblings, parents, grandparents, and other family members who share the same human leukocyte antigens (HLA) type. Currently, stem cells can treat various cancers, immune disorders, blood disorders, metabolic disorders, and genetic diseases. These can include leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell disease, blood marrow failure syndrome, and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. As stem cell research continues, it might be possible to find many other medical uses for cord blood stem cells.

If your child or anyone in your family has or is likely to be affected by genetic health conditions, the cord banking costs may be the best long-term investment you could make to find the right treatment for them.