The different
cord blood services.

About stem cell research.

Stem cell research is a very popular topic with doctors, parents and patients alike and because of this many different companies are starting to offer various different cord blood services. Umbilical cord blood contains pluripotent stem cells meaning that they are essentially at the beginning of their life and are able to become any cell, tissue or organ within the human body if they are subjected to the correct conditions within the human body. It is necessary as with all transfusions that the blood being transfused needs to be a perfect match with the patients themselves.

Private storage of cord blood.

Private storage allows you to store cord blood for the use of your child or any family member that may require the blood at a future date. The cost of this service is usually around $1500 to pay for the extraction and the first year storage and then a further $100 per annum for ongoing storage charges. Many cord blood services allow you to pay either up front for a reduced amount or using a payment plan. The payment plan will usually require that you pay the initial payment and then you can either pay monthly or annually for the storage costs.

Cord blood donation.

Donating cord blood is quite different. The procedure is still the same, however, any patient that requires it can use the cord blood that you donate. The umbilical cord blood will be stored as normal and then registered on the donor register. Then, when a patient requires a transfusion the register will be scoured for marrow and cord blood donors. If a match is found then the transfusion will be carried out. The cord blood and placental source for embryonic stem cells provides surgeons and doctors with an excellent resource of stem cells to use for research and transfusions.

Removing the blood.

If you are interested in donating umbilical cord blood then you should contact your physician as early in the pregnancy as possible. The process of removing the umbilical cord blood is identical whether you choose to donate or store for yourself. Once your baby has been born and taken it's first breath, showing that it can survive without the umbilical cord, the cord will be clamped and cut. Moments later the placenta will also be born and the blood removed from both. Removing the blood can be done one of two ways; using a syringe or by elevating the cord and draining the blood.

Choosing from the cord blood services available.

Different cord blood services offer different advantages and the eventual choice you make of the company you do use is a personal choice that only you can really make. It is imperative that you do some research on each of the companies that you are considering using to ensure that you are selecting the company that is right for you. There are several things you should look at and bear in mind that cheapest does definitely not always mean best. You might think that all the cord blood services are the same, but this definitely isn't true.

Experience.

Cost does differ slightly from one company to the next but so does previous experience. Some companies have already had several successful attempts at using the cord blood they have stored and subsequently have a number of successful attempts at testing the blood and it still being potent. Alternatively some companies have had no attempts at unfreezing and using the blood on their records. You may also want to check the number of people who have already used their services to store cord blood because this will indicate how financially secure the company should be. Financial security is vital because if the company goes bust in only a few years time then you will lose your cord blood storage.

More