Cord blood Stored up to 23.5 Years Dr. Hal Broxmeyer, from the New York Blood Center, has a re-occurring study on the length of cord blood cryopreservation. In 2003, he showed that 15 years of cryopreservation had no significant impact on the viability.
Physician organizations don't typically recommend storing cord blood as a standard. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) doesn't recommend that parents routinely store their infants' umbilical cord blood for future use — unless there's an immediate medical need for that blood to be used for a sibling.
Options for storing cord blood
After collection, the blood is sent to the facility of your choice, where it will be processed and then frozen in storage. No one is certain how long cord blood lasts. Some experts believe it can be stored for 21 years or more.
Why should I consider saving my baby's cord blood? Cord blood contains blood-forming stem cells that, when transplanted, can rebuild the bone marrow and immune system and save the life of a patient with a serious blood disorder such as leukemia, lymphoma or sickle cell disease.
A newborn's cord blood can be used by other family members, including siblings, parents, and grandparents. The child's blood type does not need to match the grandparent's for the cord blood to be used. Instead, as long as the recipient is a qualifying HLA match to the child, the cord blood is safe to use.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend the routine storage of umbilical cord blood as 'biological insurance' against future disease given the lack of scientific data supporting its use and the current availability of public banks providing allogenic samples for transplant,” Slate says.
They take blood only after clamping and cutting the cord, so there's no risk to the baby or the mother. In the past, hospitals threw away umbilical cords and placental tissue as medical waste. Now parents can choose to preserve this material for the chance to help their own family, community, or the public.
The Cost of Private Cord Blood Banking
Public cord blood banking is free, but you need to pay for private banking. According to the AAP, you can expect to pay between $1350 and $2350 for collecting, testing, and registering. You'll also pay $100 to $175 in annual storage and maintenance fees.
If publicly donated cord blood is included too, then approximately 3% of U.S. parents now store cord blood at birth, because there are about 5 cord blood units privately stored for every cord blood unit that is publicly donated.
Doctors recommend that you bank your baby's cord blood only if a family member already has one of these illnesses. You might consider donating the cord blood to a public bank instead. You probably won't be able to use the blood, but it could be used for research or for another child.
Myth: Stored cord blood has a limited “shelf-life.” Fact: Theoretically, properly frozen and stored cord blood may remain useful for a lifetime. This isn't known for certain, however, because cord blood banking has existed for fewer than 30 years.
Cord blood testing is done to measure the following in your baby's blood: Bilirubin level. Blood culture (if an infection is suspected) Blood gases (including oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH levels)
Frequently Asked Questions Expand All. What is cord blood? Cord blood is the blood from the baby that is left in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth. It contains special cells called hematopoietic stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
You can also pay a first-year processing fee that ranges from about $1,750 to $2,780 and then pay an annual storage cost of about $100 to $175 for each year you choose to continue storage. There's an extra cost for storing your baby's cord tissue in addition to her cord blood.
Do Hospitals Keep Placentas? Hospitals treat placentas as medical waste or biohazard material. The newborn placenta is placed in a biohazard bag for storage. Some hospitals keep the placenta for a period of time in case the need arises to send it to pathology for further analysis.
When Can Siblings Use Cord Blood? Stem cells from cord blood can be used for the newborn, their siblings, and potentially other relatives. Patients with genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, cannot use their own cord blood and will need stem cells from a sibling's cord blood.
Some hospitals still sell placentas in bulk for scientific research, or to cosmetics firms, where they are processed and later plastered on the faces of rich women. In the UK, babies are gently wiped dry, leaving some protective vermix clinging to the skin.
Cord blood is also a potential source of stem and progenitor cells with possible therapeutic applications. Nonetheless, collection and storage of cord blood raise ethical concerns with regard to patient safety, autonomy, and potential for conflict of interest.
Michael Chez, director of Pediatric Neurology at the Sutter Institute, reports that “the results of this study indicate that cord blood stem cells may offer ways to modulate or repair the immune systems of these patients with autism, and in doing so, improve language and some behavior in some children.
“For full-term babies, delayed cord clamping increases the baby's blood volume and iron stores,” Barnes says. “Because iron is poorly transferred into breast milk, this extra iron helps prevent anemia.” Anemia is a condition characterized by low red blood cell volume.
If publicly donated cord blood is included too, then approximately 3% of U.S. parents now store cord blood at birth, because there are about 5 cord blood units privately stored for every cord blood unit that is publicly donated.
Cord blood testing is required for all babies born to Group O and Rh negative mothers as part of the testing process to identify candidates for post-partum Rh Immunoglobulin administration.