We use the closed system bag which significantly reduces the chance of bacterial or fungal infection.

The collection process takes place after delivery when the cord has been separated from your newborn infant. In no way does it interfere with the birth of your baby. Your attending physician, nurse or midwife collects the cord blood utilizing a sterile kit provided by Cord Partners. The collected cord blood is sealed in a specially designed package and delivered to our laboratory for testing and processing. Finally, the sample is cryogenically stored until it needs to be retrieved.

On any given day, more than 6,000 patients, their families and friends around the world are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a matching bone marrow donor or cord blood unit. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

It is the blood obtained from the umbilical cord at birth. The cord blood contains stem cells. Stem cells are the cells that make all of the other cells in your body, i.e., heart cells, neural cells, etc. These stem cells continue to reproduce throughout life unless they are destroyed by cancer or blood disease. If your stem cells are destroyed, you will die unless they are replaced by transplant.

When a patient needs a transplant for a life-threatening disease, his or her doctor considers many factors: Should the cells come from the patient (autologous transplant) or from a donor (allogeneic transplant)? The type of transplant used depends on which works best for that disease. Which cell source (bone marrow, peripheral blood, or cord blood) is best for the patient? Each source has advantages and disadvantages. Patients who have a hard time finding a matched bone marrow donor.

If you are donating, make sure your doctor understands that you are not profiting from this and that in fact, the cord blood is made available to anyone who needs it. What is Cord Blood? | My Options | Why Choose Cryobanks? | FAQ | Health Care Professionals Only | Links/Articles | Research | Contact Us | Privacy Policies

The use of cord blood is an alternative to a bone marrow transplant. Both contain valuable stem cells often required in the treatment of various cancers (leukemia) and genetic and immune disorders. In patients that have undergone intensive radiation or chemotherapy, healthy stem cells may be used to rebuild a damaged blood system.

Following the birth of your baby your placenta is normally thrown away along with the cord blood that is in it. Cord blood is rich in blood stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow, and these can be used to treat many different cancers, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.

The main reason why families choose to collect and store their baby's cord blood is because each childs stem cells are genetically unique. Many parents save the cord blood stem cells of each individual child to ensure an exact match in the need of treatment. Even in the case of identical twins, each child's cord blood should be banked separately.

We recommend that you store cord blood stem cells for all your children to ensure an exact match for each of them. In addition, saving cord blood for all your children increases the chances of finding a match among family members. The same applies for multiple births.

The preserved cord blood stem cells are, of course, available as a perfect match for the child from whose umbilical cord they were collected. Because there is a 1-in-4 chance of a perfect match with a sibling, parents may choose to make the cord blood available to siblings or potentially other family members who may need them. That decision is theirs alone.

Donating cord blood for public use or storing it for your family's private use is a personal decision. You can find detailed information in these FAQs that can help you make an informed decision.

of people who need bone marrow transplants can not find a match. Finding a proper match is especially problematic for African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and people of mixed ethnicity. By banking your baby's stem cells, the odds of having a proper match for the baby or another family member improve.

Donating cord blood is medically safe. Donating poses no health risks to you or your baby. Donating does not affect your baby or your birth experience because the cord blood is collected after your baby is born. If you or your baby experience any complications during delivery, your doctor will not collect the cord blood. There is no cost for donating for public use.

Donating your child's cord blood or storing it for private use is a personal decision that only you can make. If you have a child with leukemia or other disease that may be treatable by transplant and you are pregnant, talk with your oncologist or pediatrician about saving your baby's cord blood. Families may feel a great deal of pressure from the promotions and advertisements they receive from the for-profit private storage cord blood banks.

If you are interested, or someone you know is interested, in donating cord blood, look for a Cord Blood Bank or collecting hospital within or close to your community. There are only a small number of cord blood banks in the United States, so donation to a local bank is not possible in many areas.

Once the donated cord blood is processed and stored at the Cord Blood Bank, it is listed on the NMDP Registry and available to patients all over the world who are searching for a match. The cord blood can be transplanted into any patient whose doctor selects the cord as a match for that patient.

Identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and cord blood transplant recipient. The identity of the cord blood donor is kept confidential at the cord blood bank.

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the lifeline between mother and baby. Once the umbilical cord is discarded after your baby's birth, you lose the chance to preserve the precious stem cells it contains that are an exact match for your child. By preserving your baby's stem cells, he or she will have a guaranteed source of perfectly matched cells in the event a life threatening illness develops and the cells need to be used to combat the disease.

After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the link between the baby and the placenta. The small amount of blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord, typically three to five fluid ounces, is drained and taken to a cord blood bank where the unit is processed and samples are sent for tests. To be stored, the cord blood unit must meet these standards: Tests of the cord blood unit and the mother's blood sample must show no signs of infection or other possible problems.

Because the tissue traits that are used to match a cord blood unit with a patient are inherited, a patient's most specific match will be cord blood directly from that child. American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and multiple-race patients face a greater challenge in finding a match from a person other than themselves.

ldquo;You understand that there are risks with any medical procedure, that there may be additional considerations or unforeseeable circumstances during the delivery of your Child and which may affect the collection of Cord Blood. The safety and care of the Child and mother are of primary concern. You therefore acknowledge and agree that the qualified medical professional may, for any reason and at their discretion, refuse to collect the Cord Blood.