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Cord blood and cord tissue banking are cutting-edge cryopreservation techniques that allow expectant parents to preserve their child’s potentially life-saving umbilical cord stem cells after birth. Cord blood banking allows your child to use their own stem cells if they are diagnosed with a disease treatable with stem cell therapy.

Stem cells are powerful resources that can be used to treat over 80 different diseases, including cancer, blood disorders, and immune system disorders. Stem cell transplants allow doctors to use the patient's own stem cells or the stem cells of another person with at least a 4/6 HLA match - opening up new possibilities for healing. Your newborn's stem cells can only be collected and preserved immediately after birth.

Cord blood and cord tissue stem cells are the building blocks of our bodies. They each have very different roles in the body and regenerative medicine.  Preserving both cord blood and cord tissue will provide more security for your family’s future.

When you bank your child’s cord blood stem cells, there are two different parts of the cord that can be utilized in future stem cell therapies.

Cord blood stem cells have the unique ability to repair and regenerate healthy blood and immune systems. Your baby’s cord tissue contains different types of stem cells than those found in the cord blood. Within cord tissue are the powerful mesenchymal stem cells which have the ability to heal, repair, and regenerate muscle, bones, cartilage, skin and the tissue parts of our internal organs.

Over 500 active clinical trials are being conducted around the world using mesenchymal stem cells as potential treatments for many different diseases. Researchers have found many breakthroughs using these stem cells and are excited about the future in regenerative medicine using cord tissue stem cells.

Your baby's cord blood is absolutely not a medical waste! Over 60,000 patients have benefited from cord blood treatments since the 1st transplant in 1988. Emerging research demonstrates that umbilical cord blood stem cells continue to be an amazing biological resource that contain powerful health benefits. These stem cells can regenerate all components of our blood and auto-immune systems. Stem cells can save lives of a patient with a serious blood disease such as leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell disease. StemCyte has provided 1 out of every 26 cord blood transplant units (2,303+ units) for transplant worldwide.

It is important to preserve each child's cord blood stem cells because that is the only way to be 100% certain that each child will have their unique stem cells available should they need a stem cell transplant in the future. Although stem cells may be a match between biological siblings, physicians use an entire sample in each transplant as more stem cells increase the engraftment rate and the overall success of the transplant. As such, each cord blood unit can only be used in one transplant.

Cord blood stem cells can potentially be used to treat family members other than the baby if there is an HLA match between the baby and other family members. Biological siblings of the baby have a 75% chance of being a partial HLA match and biological parents have about 20% probability of being a partial HLA match to their baby. However, keep in mind that each cord blood unit can only be used in one transplant. Once it is used in a transplant, it will no longer be available for other family members.

StemCyte is unique amongst cord blood banks as we offer both private and public cord blood banking. Private banking is when expectant parents choose to preserve and retain ownership of their baby’s umbilical cord stem cells for the exclusive use of their baby or other family members. Private banking requires parents to pay a processing fee and ongoing annual storage.

Public banking is when expectant parents choose to donate their baby's stem cells to a public bank. When you donate your baby's stem cells to a public bank, you are making them available to another individual in need of a life-saving stem cell transplant. There is no cost to donate your child's stem cells if your hospital participates in a donation program. Your family does not retain ownership of the cord blood once it has been donated.

For more information, visit the banking options page.

After enrolling in a cord blood banking plan, StemCyte will ship a collection kit to your home address. Bring the collection kit to the hospital on the day of your delivery and hand it to your labor and delivery nurse. Your OBGYN doctor will perform the collection following the birth of your baby. Once your stem cells have been collected, your labor and delivery nurse will return the kit back to you with your baby's stem cells inside. You will need to call our medical courier at (866) 389-4659 to arrange transfer from the hospital to StemCyte’s laboratory for processing. Learn more about our processing options here.

Research has shown that cord blood collection from a baby's umbilical cord poses no risks, as it is safely removed without any contact with the baby and mom. It is collected after the umbilical cord is cut from the baby. It does not interfere with the delivery process, and no blood is taken directly from the baby.

Delayed cord clamping is a decision each family makes in consultation with their OBGYN physician. DCC and cord blood banking can both be part of your birth plan. While DCC may reduce stem cell volume for preservation purposes, a good amount can still be collected and preserved for future transplant therapy. Many expectant parents are choosing to do both DCC and cord blood banking.

Cord blood has the power to be a lifetime resource when collected, processed, and cryopreserved properly. Since the first transplant occurred in 1988, the medical community now believes umbilical cord stem cells could last the lifetime of the baby. Recently, StemCyte provided a cord blood unit that was cryopreserved for 18 years to successfully treat a 46 year old male patient suffering from an acute ischemic stroke.