BedJuddbabygirl Rebecca Judd paid $3000 to store her daughters umbilical cord blood. This is why. Rebecca and Chris Judd have decided to store their newborn daughter Billie Kate’s umbilical cord blood.

BedJuddbabygirl Rebecca Judd paid $3000 to store her daughters umbilical cord blood. This is why.
Rebecca and Chris Judd have decided to store their newborn daughter Billie Kate’s umbilical cord blood.

Australian model Rebecca Judd and her husband Australian Football League player Chris Judd have decided to store their newborn daughter Billie Kate’s umbilical cord blood.

The reason? They want to be prepared should there ever come a time when stem cells could help their family.

The 31-year-old mother reportedly made the decision to store the blood, as tissue from the umbilical cord contains haematopoietic stem cells (which can be used to treat immune system disorders and generate red blood cells) and mesenchymal stromal cells (which can be grown into bone and cartilage).

Chris Judd has suffered from knee problems in the past – so if either of his children suffer from the same issues, the solution may already be frozen and waiting for them.

After the birth of their first child, Oscar, born in 2011, the Judds chose to store only the cord blood – but this time Rebecca decided they should store the extra tissue.

She told the Herald Sun:

“It made a lot of sense to store both the cord tissue and blood with our new daughter … Of course, you obviously hope to never be in a position to have to use it. But ensuring we stored this important cord tissue and cord blood — when you have only one opportunity at birth — made sense.”

So what motivates a parent to look that far into the future, and think about storing umbilical cord blood and tissue – at the moment of giving birth?

rebecca judd cord blood 3 Rebecca Judd paid $3000 to store her daughters umbilical cord blood. This is why.
Two per cent of Aussie families made the decision to privately store cord blood last year.
While some might find the motivation a bit morbid – in the sense that you are storing the blood for the sole purpose of dealing with the possibility of leukaemia, anaemia and autoimmune diseases in the future – it’s actually quite a sensible idea.

The process is painless, and doesn’t hurt mother or child. After giving birth, an obstetrician will collect blood from the umbilical cord – which will then be transferred to cord blood bank for freezing.

Cell Care, the company which is storing the Judds’ cord blood tissue, has revealed to the Sun Herald that about two per cent of Aussie families made the decision to privately store cord blood last year.

Private cord blood banks mean that the parents have to pay a fee, and the cord is stored for exclusive use by the child (or related family members). There are also public donation banks, where parents can chooser to donate the cord blood which is then available to be used by anyone in Australia who is a suitable genetic match – much like a standard blood bank – which has the potential to save other lives.

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options
The following table summarizes the banks in this country under these columns:
LABORATORY that the bank uses to process the cord blood.
ACCREDITATIONS held by the laboratory
THERAPIES from this lab - A number with NO "*" means the cord blood therapies were for private clients who had a family banking contract. A number with a "*" means the cord blood was listed on a public registry and released to a transplant patient outside the family. Some laboratories provide both types of storage.
COST ( YEAR ONE ) is the initial price of banking with this company.
COST ( YEAR 20 ) is the total price after 20 years of storage.

LISTS OF ACCREDITED BANKS
AABB

FACT

FDA

HTA
NAME LABORATORY ACCREDITATIONS THERAPIES COST (YEAR ONE) COST (YEAR 20)
CORD:USE CORD:USE, Orlando, FL AABB 307* $2145 $4520
VIACORD ViaCord, Hebron, KY AABB 260 $1945 $4320
LIFEBANKUSA LifebankUSA, Cedar Knolls, NJ AABB 35 $2175 $4550
MAZE NY Blood Center, NY, NY AABB, FACT 1 $1990 $1990
STEMCYTE StemCyte, Covina, CA AABB, FACT 1900* $1500 $3875
CRYO-CELL Cryo-Cell, Oldsmar, FL AABB, ISO 61 $1720 $4095
SAFETYCORD Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ AABB 300* $2100 $4000
GENESIS BANK Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 2 $1275 $3650
FAMILYCORD FamilyCord, Los Angeles, CA AABB 101* + 17 $2120 $4140
MIRACLECORD private lab AABB varies by lab $1595 $2925
CELEBRATION STEM CELL CENTRE Celebration Stem Cell Centre, Gilbert AZ AABB 0 $1975 $4350
NEW ENGLAND CORD BLOOD BANK New England CBB, Newton, MA AABB 12 $1375 $3170
GENECELL GeneCell, Miami, FL none yet 0 $1,795 $3,595
ALPHACORD multiple labs - see table on AlphaCord web site varies by lab varies by lab starts at $890 starts at $2955
AMERICORD REGISTRY Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 2 $1998 $1998
ASSUREIMMUNE AssureImmune, Boca Raton, FL
CARICORD ClinImmune dba CariCord, Aurora, CO AABB ? $2,095 $4,495
CORCELL CorCell (CBAI), Las Vegas, NV AABB 11 $1975 $4350
CORD BLOOD REGISTRY CBR, Tucson, AZ AABB, ISO 9001:2008 204 $1995 $4465
CORD BLOOD SOLUTIONS Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
CORE23 BIOBANK Core23 BioBank, Springfield, MI none yet 0 $2300 $5625
FAMILY LINK Kosair Children's Hospital, Louisville, KY
GENECORD Located in Augusta, GA ISO 9001:2008 0 $2595 $2595
LIFEFORCE CRYOBANKS Lifeforce Cryobanks, Altamonte Springs, FL AABB 14* $1399 $3679
LIFELINE CRYOGENICS LifeLine, Stamford, CT AABB 1 $1350 $3535
LIFESOURCE CRYOBANK LifeSource, Covington, LA -- 0 $2300 $4675
NEOSTEM Progenitor Cell Therapy, Allendale, NJ AABB 108* $2225 $4600
NEW HOPE CBB Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
NUVACORD NETWORK Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ AABB 300* $1500 ?
PACIFICORD PacifiCord, Irvine, CA AABB 0 $2300 $5000
SOUTHERN CORD Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 0
STORK MEDICAL Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
UTAH CORD BANK Utah Cord Bank, Sandy, UT
XYTEX Xytex, Augusta, GA ISO 9001:2008 0 $1875 $3775

Last Modified: 12/29/2013 – Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation © 2007 - 2014 

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options
The following table summarizes the banks in this country under these columns:
LABORATORY that the bank uses to process the cord blood.
ACCREDITATIONS held by the laboratory
THERAPIES from this lab - A number with NO "*" means the cord blood therapies were for private clients who had a family banking contract. A number with a "*" means the cord blood was listed on a public registry and released to a transplant patient outside the family. Some laboratories provide both types of storage.
COST ( YEAR ONE ) is the initial price of banking with this company.
COST ( YEAR 20 ) is the total price after 20 years of storage.

LISTS OF ACCREDITED BANKS
AABB

FACT

FDA

HTA
NAME LABORATORY ACCREDITATIONS THERAPIES COST (YEAR ONE) COST (YEAR 20)
CORD:USE CORD:USE, Orlando, FL AABB 307* $2145 $4520
VIACORD ViaCord, Hebron, KY AABB 260 $1945 $4320
LIFEBANKUSA LifebankUSA, Cedar Knolls, NJ AABB 35 $2175 $4550
MAZE NY Blood Center, NY, NY AABB, FACT 1 $1990 $1990
STEMCYTE StemCyte, Covina, CA AABB, FACT 1900* $1500 $3875
CRYO-CELL Cryo-Cell, Oldsmar, FL AABB, ISO 61 $1720 $4095
SAFETYCORD Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ AABB 300* $2100 $4000
GENESIS BANK Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 2 $1275 $3650
FAMILYCORD FamilyCord, Los Angeles, CA AABB 101* + 17 $2120 $4140
MIRACLECORD private lab AABB varies by lab $1595 $2925
CELEBRATION STEM CELL CENTRE Celebration Stem Cell Centre, Gilbert AZ AABB 0 $1975 $4350
NEW ENGLAND CORD BLOOD BANK New England CBB, Newton, MA AABB 12 $1375 $3170
GENECELL GeneCell, Miami, FL none yet 0 $1,795 $3,595
ALPHACORD multiple labs - see table on AlphaCord web site varies by lab varies by lab starts at $890 starts at $2955
AMERICORD REGISTRY Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 2 $1998 $1998
ASSUREIMMUNE AssureImmune, Boca Raton, FL
CARICORD ClinImmune dba CariCord, Aurora, CO AABB ? $2,095 $4,495
CORCELL CorCell (CBAI), Las Vegas, NV AABB 11 $1975 $4350
CORD BLOOD REGISTRY CBR, Tucson, AZ AABB, ISO 9001:2008 204 $1995 $4465
CORD BLOOD SOLUTIONS Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
CORE23 BIOBANK Core23 BioBank, Springfield, MI none yet 0 $2300 $5625
FAMILY LINK Kosair Children's Hospital, Louisville, KY
GENECORD Located in Augusta, GA ISO 9001:2008 0 $2595 $2595
LIFEFORCE CRYOBANKS Lifeforce Cryobanks, Altamonte Springs, FL AABB 14* $1399 $3679
LIFELINE CRYOGENICS LifeLine, Stamford, CT AABB 1 $1350 $3535
LIFESOURCE CRYOBANK LifeSource, Covington, LA -- 0 $2300 $4675
NEOSTEM Progenitor Cell Therapy, Allendale, NJ AABB 108* $2225 $4600
NEW HOPE CBB Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
NUVACORD NETWORK Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ AABB 300* $1500 ?
PACIFICORD PacifiCord, Irvine, CA AABB 0 $2300 $5000
SOUTHERN CORD Cook General BioTechnology, Indianapolis, IN AABB 0
STORK MEDICAL Community Blood Services, Montvale, NJ
UTAH CORD BANK Utah Cord Bank, Sandy, UT
XYTEX Xytex, Augusta, GA ISO 9001:2008 0 $1875 $3775

Last Modified: 12/29/2013 – Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation © 2007 - 2014 

Cord Blood Storage and Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping

Cord Blood Storage and Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping
by Bouzgarrou HEdi
Many people believe that a choice has to be made between storing your baby’s cord blood and delayed clamping, but that is not the truth.  In fact, of the 200mL of blood contained in the umbilical after birth, only 20-40 mL will go into your newborn baby.  The benchmark amount of cord blood needed to store your baby’s cord blood is 50mL.  There is more than enough cord blood in the umbilical cord after birth to delay cutting the cord and still store this life-saving source of stem cells.

Was your baby’s umbilical cord clamped and cut right after birth?  Or did you elect to delay clamping and cutting the umbilical cord?  There is growing debate among the medical community surrounding delayed cord clamping and cutting.  Childbirth experts in the United Kingdom have gathered together to ask the National Health Service to change its policy on early clamping and cutting.

They believe that it is beneficial to the baby to delay the clamping of the cord to allow more blood to go into the baby’s body.  Since about a third of the baby’s blood is still in the cord and placenta at the time of birth, researchers believe that delaying the cutting until the cord stops pulsating naturally can help prevent the baby from developing iron-deficiency anemia.

In the United States, there has not been a clear determination as to whether delaying the clamping and cutting of the cord blood is beneficial at all to the baby.   All parties agree, however, that if there is an emergency during birth, such as the cord wrapped around the baby’s neck or the mother is hemorrhaging, then the cord should be cut right away.  One thing is for sure, more research needs to be done in the area of delayed cord blood clamping to determine the optimal time to clamp the umbilical cord.

Do you have an opinion on delayed umbilical cord clamping? Did you have your child’s clamping delayed during birth?  Share with us in the comments section!

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options

Family Cord Blood Price & Accreditation Options
For each company providing family storage of cord blood in this country, we list the LABORATORY that processes the cord blood, the ACCREDITATIONS held by the laboratory, and the number of cord blood collections that the laboratory has released for THERAPIES. The last two columns are the COST ( YEAR ONE ) of banking with this company, and the total COST ( YEAR 20 ) of storage, respectively. The three columns describing the laboratory will be the same for all companies that use the same laboratory, whereas the two cost columns are the unique prices charged by that company in this country.

An additional note about the number of THERAPIES: A number with NO "*" means the cord blood therapies were for private clients who had a family banking contract. A number with a "*" means the cord blood was listed on a public registry and released to a transplant patient outside the family. Some laboratories provide both types of storage.

Isolation of Mononuclear Cells from Umbilical Cord Blood

1. Isolation of Mononuclear Cells from Umbilical Cord Blood

Prepare EDTA-PBS buffer- add 5 ml bovine serum albumin (BSA) stock solution to 95 ml rinsing buffer (1:20 dilution). Degas the buffer and keep the buffer on ice. IMPORTANT: Failure to degas the buffer may result in less than optimal results when isolating CD19+ B-cells because bubbles may block the isolation column.
Prepare 50 ml conical tubes for density gradient centrifugation. Determine the number of tubes required for processing the cord blood (1 tube can process 8 ml blood) and add 15 ml of Ficoll-Paque PLUS to each tube.
Dilute 8 ml of cord blood with 24 ml DPBS (1X) and carefully layer the diluted cord blood mixture on top of the Ficoll-Paque PLUS in each of the 50 ml conical tubes. Do not mix the blood and Ficoll-Paque PLUS. IMPORTANT: To avoid mixing of the cord blood and Ficoll-Paque PLUS, hold the tube at a 45 degree angle and layer the blood mixture slowly.
Centrifuge at 400 x g for 40 min at 20 °C. Mononuclear cells (MNC) will remain at the plasma-Ficoll-Paque PLUS interface whereas granulocytes and erythrocytes sediment due to higher density at the osmotic pressure of Ficoll-Paque PLUS. Label seven 5 ml round-bottom tubes to be used in Part 3 with the sample ID, date and the following:
Tube Label Purpose
1 Unstained Unstained cells for normalization during flow cytometry
2 7AAD To determine viability during flow cytometry
3 +++ Contains the cells that will be sorted
4 34+ To collect CD34+/CD19+ (late pro-B - early pre-BI) cells
5 45low To collect CD34-/CD19+/CD45low (pre-BI) cells
6 45med To collect CD34-/CD19+/CD45med (pre-BII) cells
7 45high To collect CD34-/CD19+/ CD45high (immature B) cells
Coat tubes 4, 5, 6, and 7 with 2% FBS and place all tubes on ice.

Aspirate the upper plasma layer carefully and avoid contact with the mononuclear cell layer. Using a 10 ml glass pipette, carefully transfer the mononuclear cell layer to a new 50 ml conical tube. Combine the mononuclear cells from three tubes together into a single 50 ml tube.
Fill the tube with PBS, mix gently and centrifuge at 300 x g for 10 min at 20 °C. Carefully aspirate the supernatant without disturbing the cell pellet. Repeat 1x. After the first wash, resuspend the pellets and transfer to a single 50 ml conical tube.
Gently resuspend the cell pellet in 200 μl of PBS. Remove 1 μl of the cell suspension, add it to 1 ml of PBS in a 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tube and set aside for counting (count cells after placing the 50 ml cell suspension in the centrifuge). Fill the tube with PBS and centrifuge at 200 x g for 15 min to remove platelets. Remove the supernatant completely without disturbing the cell pellet.

What are the Benefits of Cord Blood?

What are the Benefits of Cord Blood?

Your baby’s natural and unique umbilical cord blood is chock full of special blood cells called stem cells. These stem cells have many potential health benefits for your baby and possibly even another family member. Stem cells are the body’s building blocks for important aspects of the body, including the blood, organs, tissues, and immune system. The stem cells are very individualized and unique to your baby. Therefore, by saving the cord blood, which is extracted safely after the baby’s birth, you are salvaging a precious biological resource that can potentially be used to cure certain conditions later on if needed. Umbilical cord blood and the stem cells contained within it have been found to help fight over 80 diseases, including cancer, blood disorders, and immune and genetic diseases. Leukemia, lupus, sickle cell anemia and countless other diseases have been shown to respond favorably to stem cell transplants. Studies are currently under way to show that stem cells may even be beneficial in fighting stroke, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and HIV. StemCyte is involved in collaborative research using cord blood stem cells. In our research efforts, we are particularly focused on using cord blood stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries by way of tissue regeneration. Your baby’s stem cells are a perfect match for him or her if he or she ever has a need for a stem cell transplant. In addition, the stem cells have a fifty percent chance of being a good match for a sibling of your baby and may even be a match for a parent of the baby. According to some reports, over 3,000 stem cell transplants from cord blood have occurred in the past 20 years, resulting in a cure for about forty to fifty percent of the patients. Stem cells from cord blood are safer than stem cells from bone marrow. Stem cells taken from bone marrow have a very high chance of being infected with a virus, particularly cytomegalovirus. These viruses can cause life-threatening health problems to those patients who receive the bone marrow. Cord blood is much less likely to contain viruses. Also, cord blood does not need to be an exact match like bone marrow does. There is a lower probability of graft versus host disease (GVHD) with cord blood as well. During transplantation, the stem cells within the cord blood help to repair the body’s red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which are all needed for healthy blood and a strong immune system. The stem cells also work to repair bone, the heart, muscle cells, and nerve cells. They basically provide healthy cells that replace the damaged ones, fighting disease and strengthening the body’s defenses