You may or may not have heard about cord blood banking, but there is a lot of misinformation out there about what it actually is. So to get us started Cells4Life have shared 3 things you need to know.
1. What is Cord Blood Banking?
First, we should give a little information about what cord blood banking is. There are companies out there such as Cells4Life that collect and privately store cord blood for the family to use for therapeutic and medical treatments.
More specifically, the stem cells are what gets stored. Stem cells are amazing as they are currently used to treat around 80 conditions worldwide. Holding onto them gives your child and your family a safety net. The cells will be a 100% match to your baby but also have a high potential of being a potential match to siblings and other blood relatives.
The collection process is also pretty simple. You will be provided with a kit that you can pop into your hospital bag, and you will also get the name of a specially trained phlebotomist who can carry out your collection. After baby is born and the phlebotomist will do everything they need to in a separate room. Once the samples are secured, call the courier your storage bank has provided you and voila, all sorted.
Of course, there is a fee involved with private storage, but for the security that it can provide, it might be worth it.
2. It’s non-invasive
This is something very important to note, and something people often don’t realise. Cord blood, cord tissue, and (if you have the option) placenta collection and storage are all non-invasive. Everything happens after baby is born, the cord is cut, and the placenta is delivered.
As mentioned before, the phlebotomist will also be in an entirely separate room from you during your baby’s birth and will do all the collection processes there.
The only part of the whole thing you need to be involved in is providing a maternal blood sample, which shouldn’t take too long. Your biggest and obviously most important task of the day is bringing your baby into the world and spending precious moments with your newborn.
3. Compatible with your birth preferences
More specifically, it is cord blood and tissue collection is compatible with your choice of delayed or optimal cord clamping.
A common misconception is that you have to do one or the other, but this is not true. There may be a slight effect on the volume of cord blood collected, but you can choose delayed, or optimal cord clamping and STILL have collection take place.
Deciding on whether you do it- is it worth it?
This one is up to you. It is always good to research and see if this is something for you. Reach out and ask questions. There is a lot of potential for stem cells, which are constantly being researched to unlock more treatments and uses. They are truly fascinating cells, so they may very well be worth saving.
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