Banking cord blood in an important decision to consider when finding out you are pregnant. When people are banking cord blood, they are giving their family the peace of mind that they will have the best chance to fight disease and injury using stem cells. Banking cord blood is a multi step process and how these steps are carried out is important to the success and vitality of the specimen. Banking cord blood begins with researching cord blood banks and deciding who you will choose to have your business.
These cord blood banks will house your stem cells for 20+ years and could potentially mean a life saving stem cell transplant for one of your children, so this is an important first step in banking cord blood. The second step is collection which will vary slightly, but all happen immediately after you give birth. The next step in banking cord blood is transport of the cord blood.
This will be a part of the cord blood bank’s process and should be done by a licensed reputable medical courier and not just a parcel delivery company, even if they offer such services. When banking cord blood, the speed at which the specimen is processed is imperative to the best collection of stem cells. The cord blood is taken to a lab and processed, this varies slightly from company to company, but generally speaking this is probably the most important step in the banking cord blood process. The technicians tasked with this need to be accurate at all times in order to be successful.
Cord blood banking companies will usually not charge a customer for this process at all if it is in any way compromised or not viable. Their reputation depends on this aspect of banking cord blood, and you should make sure the company you are choosing can provide information on their own track record. Finally, the blood is cryogenically frozen using nitrogen vapor or liquid, and stored in a high tech facility until needed or indefinitely.