by What is Cord Blood?
Cord blood refers to the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after childbirth. It contains stem cells that can be collected and saved for potential future use by the child or family members. Cord blood stem cells have significant benefits compared to stem cells from other sources like bone marrow for treatment of over 80 diseases.
Public vs Private Cord Blood Banking
There are primarily two types of Cord Blood Banking Services– public banking and private banking. In public banking, families donate cord blood units to a public bank, where they are made available to any patient in need of a transplant. Private banking involves families storing their own cord blood units for personal use by the donor child or family members.
While public banking helps many unknown individuals, private banking offers exclusive access to the stored cord blood for only the donor child and close family members in case of a future need. However, private banking is significantly more expensive than public banking.
Cord Blood Collection Procedure
The collection of cord blood is a simple and safe procedure that takes place shortly after childbirth. Once the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, the blood left in the cord and placenta is collected in a specialized collection bag containing anticoagulant solution.
This collection typically takes 5-10 minutes. The cord blood unit is then tested, processed, and cryogenically preserved in either a public or private cord blood bank depending on the type of storage chosen by the parents. The mother experiences no additional pain or risk from this collection process.
Potential Medical Uses of Banked Cord Blood
Stored cord blood units offer treatment options for over 80 diseases including blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and anemia. It is also used as a promising new therapy for non-cancerous blood, immune system, and metabolic disorders.
Some common conditions treated with cord blood transplants include sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) or “Bubble Boy” disease, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and neuroblastoma. Clinical trials are also exploring use of cord blood cells for type 1 diabetes, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain/spinal cord injuries.
Success Rates of Cord Blood Transplants
Success rates for cord blood transplants depend on various factors like the disease being treated, the stage of disease, HLA matching between donor and recipient, and age/weight of the recipient. For children, the overall 5-year survival rate following a matched related donor transplant is around 85%, while for matches unrelated cords it ranges between 70-80%.
Adults generally have lower chances of successful engraftment and survival after a cord blood transplant due to higher amounts of transfused cells required. However, newer techniques using two partially matched cord blood units or co-infusing with bone marrow are increasing transplant success even in adults.
Cost of Cord Blood Banking Services
The major factors determining the cost of cord blood banking include the type of storage (public vs private), length of storage contract period,LifeCell’sand annual storage fees if any. On average, public banking is offered free of charge as families simply pay a one-time collection kit fee of around $150.
Private banking costs range from $1,000 to $2,000 for the initial collection and first year of storage. Annual storage fees then apply ranging from $100 to $150 per year. Storage for 18 to 21 years is recommended for maximum benefits and costs approximately $1900 to $2,400 over the storage term. Some facilities offer family or sibling banking plans with lower combined rates.
Financial assistance programs and payment plans are available from most leading cord blood banks to help make private banking affordable for all families. storing cord blood banking services could represent a major future expense avoidance if the stored cells are needed for a family member’s treatment in years to come.
Should You Bank Your Newborn’s Cord Blood?
With information on the medical potential, low collection risks, and affordability of cord blood banking today, many experts recommend parents at least consider this option for their newborn. While the need may be small, the consequences of needing the cells but not having access can be serious.
Banking privately allows exclusive access, but public donation also helps unknown patients in the future. Overall, informed parental choice is key. Banking provides much-needed treatment cells if ever required, while not banking means those potentially lifesaving cells are discarded at birth. Considering factors like family health history can help with the decision.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.
