Doctors Recommend Cord Blood Banking

Many doctors and other healthcare professionals choose to bank their own newborns’ cord blood and tissue simply because they recognize the current and potential benefits. In fact, in the last 20 years, the use of cord blood stem cells has increased more than anyone might have expected. Today, these powerful cells have been used in over 25,000 medical procedures and the number of umbilical cord blood banking benefits may grow in the coming years as medicine evolves.
Banking your children's cord blood and tissue cells, and those of their siblings, is one of the best preventative and protective measures you can take – for today and into the future.

Private Storage of Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord Blood

Cryo-Save (Euronext/AIM: CRYO), the largest stem cell bank in Europe, is very pleased with this positive development. “We expect that the merit of private storage of stem cells will also increase in Europe and that the sometimes unreasonable arguments, which prevent people from storing stem cells in a number of countries, will disappear”, according to CEO Arnoud van Tulder, “combined storage seems to be the way of the future”.

What is the merit of umbilical cord blood?

Umbilical cord blood contains very valuable cells; stem cells which can multiply and grow into cells which can cure serious and sometimes deadly diseases. They are used to combat more than 70 different diseases and research into new applications is continuously increasing; at present, more than 3,000 clinical studies are in progress. The blood and the stem cells are analyzed and processed using advanced technology and subsequently stored in the gas phase of liquid nitrogen. When needed, the cells can be used immediately.

Private versus public storage?

As a parent, you can have the umbilical cord blood with the stem cells of your child stored in the private or family blood bank. The stem cells are then available for later use and guarantee an exact match for the child concerned, and 25% chance that they are also an exact match for a brother or sister. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of parents already decided to store the stem cells from the umbilical cord blood of their children in a private bank.

When the choice is public storage, the parents decide to make the stem cells available to others. The cells can then be utilized to save the life of another, unknown person, who shows a match with the donor blood. However, the donor parents do not have any guarantee that the stem cells remain available for their own child as well. In addition, it turns out that only 30 to 50% of all donations are indeed stored. The rest is destroyed. You will only get the guarantee that the stem cells are available if your child needs them by storing in a private or family bank.

Cryo-Save goes for combined storage

With more than 130,000 samples stored and activities in more than 38 countries, Cryo-Save is the largest stem cell bank in Europe.

The stem cells are taken from the umbilical cord and umbilical tissue. In Italy, Cryo-Save offers combined storage for both private as well as public use. This offers the guarantee that the blood is available for one’s own child if it is ever needed, but is also available to help others. Pending approval of the authorities, Cryo-Save plans to introduce this “best-of-both worlds” combined-storage service in other countries as well.

Why should parents preserve umbilical blood?

A series questions can arise in pregnancy which is, why really should parents preserve the ? It is costly it is against the ethical groups and many other aspects. Few scientists believe that there can be complication soon after the transplantation. The patient may possibly be affected with the germ, Graft Versus Host Illness (typically recognized as GVHD). The negative use of cord blood cell may vary from mild to severe. The cord blood collected does not cater to an adult as abundant amount of the blood can not be collected through the umbilical cord. Further, it takes a little longer time for the new cells to be generated.

Despite of all facts, it is often advisable to store the umbilical cord blood. This blood is rich in stem cells. The undifferentiated cells which can differentiate into specialized cell varieties are referred to as stem cells. Stem cells can be broadly divided into two parts, embryo stem cells and adult stem cells. Further, there are majorly 3 varieties of stem cells they are Hematopoietic stem cells, Mesenchymal stem cells and Endothelial stem cells. In typical language the stem cells are also recognized as the developing blocks of the body. This umbilical cord blood cell can cure a lot more than 70 sorts of fatal diseases. There has been far more than 4000 in the last ten years. Previously it was believed that bone marrow and the peripheral blood are the only two sources of stem cells. But this recent invention has proved that the blood in the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells to. The stem cells assists to produce white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets too. The moment the baby is born, the cord blood used to be thrown away. But now expecting parents will need to inform the medical centers on the 34th week of the pregnancy. The health centers make all the arrangements to collect the blood. The blood requirements to be collected within 10 minutes from the delivery. At least 75 ml of blood from the umbilical cord is necessary. As soon as the blood is collected soon after testing it, a number of chemical are added to preserve it. Further, the blood may be stored in a public or a private bank, depending on the parent’s option. By preserving the cord blood parent assure a safe life for their children.


transplantation was very first used for a five years old kid. In the year 1988, this child was affected by Fanconi’s anemia. It is when the child’s sibling’s cord blood was employed. Because then the use of the cord blood cell has been began. Apart from offering medical rewards stem cells helps in therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicines. It acts as a medicine for illnesses like Parkinson’s illnesses, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s illnesses, Cancer, Spinal Cord injury, diabetes and several far more. With the support of stem cells few organs and limbs can be developed in labs and then used for transplantation. Several drugs are been tested on the stem cells and not on animals or human testers. Stem cells can detect the power of the drugs and assist to detect the effect of the identical of humans. Stem cells have proved fatal in the study of abnormal birth.

How is cord blood collected?

How is cord blood collected?

The cord blood collection process is simple, safe, and painless. The process usually takes no longer than five minutes. Cord blood collection does not interfere with delivery and is possible with both vaginal and cesarean deliveries. Your health care provider will use either the syringe method or bag method for collecting the blood:

    Syringe method: a syringe is used to draw blood from the umbilical cord shortly after the umbilical cord has been cut. The process is similar to drawing blood for a regular blood test.
    Bag method: the umbilical cord is elevated to drain the blood into a bag.

The syringe or bag should be pre-labeled with a unique number that identifies your baby. Cord blood may only be collected during the first 15 minutes following the birth, and should be processed by the laboratory within 48 hours of collection.

Why would I store my baby’s blood in a cord blood bank?

Why would I store my baby’s blood in a cord blood bank?

The cord blood of your baby is an abundant source of stem cells which are genetically related to your baby and your family. The stem cells are dominant cells in the way that they contribute to the development of all tissues, organs, and systems in the body.

Stem cells are able to transform into other types of cells in the body to create new growth and development. They are the building block of the immune system. The transformation of these cells provides physicians with a way to treat leukemia and some inherited health disorders (More diseases and conditions treated by stem cells). Cord blood stem cells have similar ability to treat disease as bone marrow but with significantly less rejection.

Banking a baby’s blood and stem cells in a cord blood bank is a type of insurance. Ideally, you will not need to access your baby’s stem cells in order to address a medical problem. But using a cord blood bank can provide peace of mind knowing that you have a valuable resource if you need it. The stem cells from your baby’s cord blood may be effective in treating certain diseases or conditions of a parent or sibling.

Cord Blood: Part One – Understanding The Benefits

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Every new parent faces an important decision, whether to store his or her child’s umbilical cord blood to possibly treat illness down the road.

A North Texas family says their choice to save their daughter’s cord blood saved her life, and has continued to help in her development three years later.

Imagine being told your child may never eat, see, walk or talk. That’s what the Johnson family was told.

Three years later their daughter Caroline is not only asking for food, she’s walking into the kitchen to get it.

Caroline was born with Hydrocephalus – fluid on the brain. Doctors immediately put the girl on a ventilator.

“We didn’t want her to live life on a machine, we just wanted her to go to Heaven if that was God’s will,” said Caroline’s mother Leigh Johnson.

“The doctors prepared us for her not to make it,” Caroline’s dad Russ Johnson recalled.

But when they took Caroline off the machine, she took everyone by surprise – continuing to breath and fight.

Five days later doctors sent the fragile newborn home with hospice, and with parents on a mission. “We feel like we took it in our own hands and left the hospital.”

The Johnson’s remembered they had saved Caroline’s cord blood, a recommendation of their OB-Gyn before anyone knew anything was wrong.

A 2004 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association says research shows doctors have used stem cells treat cancers, blood disorders, immune system deficiencies and tumors.

“The whole theory of the stem cells, they go into your body and become any type of cell and it’s amazing, our prayer is they went to her brain, and I believe they did,” says Leigh Johnson.

After several infusions of her own cord blood and many hours of therapy a week, the Johnson’s say their ‘little miracle’ is beating all odds, slowly but surely. “She’s living proof, we were told she wasn’t going to do anything. Now I can barely keep her in my lap,” says Russ.

“We really believe in it and believe it has helped Caroline tremendously,” says Leigh.

The Johnsons stored Caroline’s blood with CBR Cord Blood Registry, a private company based in San Bruno, California.

But another North Texas family had completely different experiences after using another California-based company.

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Covington

    Umbilical Cord Blood Banking CovingtonLifeSource Cryobank (LifeSource) is a physician inspired company with the purpose of providing expectant parents/families with the highest quality medical resources regarding the collection, processing and storage of their baby’s umbilical cord blood stem cells.  It is our goal to provide parents with a medical resource for questions concerning the importance of understanding the biology and properties of adult stem cells, their collection from UCB and future benefits involved with their storage.
In addition, LifeSource provide a secure and trusted environment to store these unique cells.

About Cord Blood: 

Cord blood is blood from the umbilical cord (UCB) of a new baby and retrieved from the placenta after birth.  UCB is a unique product rich in adult stem cells. These cells due to their distinct biological properties are considered today as one of the most attractive candidates for the implementation of biological therapies. Among the types of stem cells present in UCB, the hematopoietic stem cells are probably the best known. This type of stem cell can grow all the cells in the blood. They are severely damaged in patients suffering from malignancies, bone marrow failure disorders and inherited metabolic and immunological disorders.

Recent findings have shown that UCB also contains mesenchymal stem cells, and endothelial progenitor cells. These types of stem cells are capable to give rise to tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, cardiac muscle and new blood vessels. Consequently, umbilical cord blood  contains cells with a vast potential for the  treatment of diseases not only related with the bone marrow, but multiple cancers, heart conditions, circulatory problems, fractures, cartilage disorders and neurological diseases.

At present, stem cells as those present in UCB are already in use or have a great potential for use in clinical procedures associated to reparative medicine or regenerative medicine. The best example of the clinical utilization of UCB-derived stem cells is the administration of hematopoietic stem cells, by means of transplants, for the treatment of life-threatening diseases both in children and adults.

Umbilical cord blood, previously considered a waste product, can now be collected at birth from both vaginal deliveries and caesarean sections, either in utero or ex utero . Once collected, UCB is processed, cryopreserved and stored at low temperatures to provide an 'off-the-shelf' product.  The UCB collection and banking process is safe, simple and painless and does not harm the mother or baby.

Reasons to Save Cord Blood:

    You only have one chance to collect these unique UCB cells.
    Stem cells can save lives.
    Banking your baby’s stem cells guarantees an immediately available, 100% immunological matched, product for a future transplant of the baby and a biological product with a very high matching rate for siblings or close relatives.
    UCB stem cells are considered one of the most promising medical treatments of the future. The clinical utilization of stem cells (regenerative medicine) represents the latest advance in treatment of multiple diseases. Instead of replacing damaged organs or chemical balance with surgery or medicine, regenerative medicines with stem cells has the potential of rebuilding such damaged organs or repair those imbalances.
    New medical advances using stem cells are occurring rapidly and the diseases that can be treated with this technology is constantly increasing.