If you are pregnant or even thinking about starting a family, you have most likely come across the topic of cord blood storage. This is the act of saving your baby’s cord blood and cryogenically storing it, in the event that some day he or she might need a transfusion of their own stem cell rich cord blood. In many cases this negates the necessity of searching for a bone marrow donor to participate in a bone marrow transplant, for diseases like sickle cell anemia and other various childhood cancers, blood disorders, and immune deficiencies.
Although somewhat costly, this is a choice that many parents are making for their newborns, because of the very real possibility that stored umbilical cord blood may one day be the deciding factor in saving their child’s life. There isn’t much that parents won’t do, given the correct information, to protect and even save their child’s life.
So, how does cord blood storage work?
Well, the cord blood is collected immediately after the birth, through a collection kit that is sent by the cord blood bank to the hospital. Then, it is put into syringes or bags and sent via medical courier to the actual cord blood bank storage facility.
After it arrives at the facility itself, it is cryogenically frozen and stored indefinitely. Should the child that the cord blood belongs to ever have need of a cord blood transfusion, then the blood will be accessed and messengered to the hospital or transplant facility where the transfusion is taking place.