About Cord-Blood Banking

About Cord-Blood Banking
Cord-blood banking basically means collecting and storing the blood from within the umbilical cord (the part of the placenta that delivers nutrients to a fetus) after a baby is born.

Cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells, which are potentially useful for treating diseases that require stem cell transplants (also called bone marrow transplants), such as certain kinds of leukemia or lymphoma, aplastic anemia, severe sickle cell disease, and severe combined immunodeficiency.



There are two types of banks that store cord blood:

Public banks collect donated cord blood for research or for use by anyone who may need it. There is usually no charge associated with this service. After birth, blood is collected, anonymously marked, and sent to a public bank to potentially save the life of another child one day.

If you choose this option and your child or a family member later develops a disease that requires a stem cell transplant for treatment, you won't be able to obtain the donation you made to the bank.
Private banks store cord blood for personal use by the family. There is a fee associated with this service. People who have a family history of disease that can be treated with stem cell transplants sometimes consider this option.

Less commonly, people choose to privately bank their newborn's cord blood on the off chance that someday their child or a sick family member could be treated with it. This practice isn't recommended, however, since the costs associated with it are high and the chances of a family member ever using the cord blood are slim.
Like community or hospital blood banks, cord-blood banks are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has developed standards regulating future cord-blood collection and storage.