Understanding Cord Blood Banking
One of my friends from high school recently had her first baby. I follow her posts and noticed that she had mentioned cord blood banking. I wish I had done that with my babies, but didn’t have as much knowledge about it then as we do now. Thanks to LifebankUSA, parents can have the peace of mind and significant benefits for their babies and family for many years to come. LifebankUSA is making great strides in Advanced Biobanking. Options to choose from include Cord Blood Banking, Placenta Blood Banking and Tissue Banking.
What is Cord Blood Banking?
Cord blood banking is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect, process and preserve your baby’s stem cells for future medical use. Collecting your baby’s cord blood is a simple and safe procedure that happens immediately after the birth. It usually takes the healthcare provider about 5 minutes to collect and package for shipment to LifebankUSA’s state-of-the-art facility located in New Jersey.
Cord blood is an important source of rich stem cells and has been proven in treatments to help replace and rebuild diseased blood cells. Today, cord blood stem cells are used in the treatment of more than 80 diseases, including various types of blood disorders and cancers, such as leukemia.
What is Placenta Blood Banking?
Parents are not only choosing to bank their child’s cord blood, but also to bank the placenta blood, which makes the cord blood even more powerful. Only LifebankUSA’s proprietary technology allows parents to bank their baby’s placenta blood. Banking placenta blood in addition to cord blood gives parents the ability to preserve significantly more of their baby’s stem cells. Why is having more of your baby’s stem cells important? Because numerous studies presented in top medical journals have shown that transplanting more cells significantly improves success and survival rates.
Customers who bank placenta blood in addition to cord blood with LifebankUSA preserve 60-70% more CD34+ stem cells – the cells that medical journals have reported as the most important for rebuilding diseased blood with healthy blood. Placenta blood also increases other types of progenitor stem cells (e.g. CD105+), which are expected to play a key role in the development of regenerative medicine. Only LifebankUSA offers the unique opportunity to save the most cells for both medical uses today and for the future.
What is Tissue Banking?
LifebankUSA, owned by Celgene Corporation, is the only cord blood bank processing material for FDA-approved clinical trials using stem cells from placental tissue. These stem cells are being used to treat patients with serious conditions, including Crohn’s disease and diabetic foot ulcers. LifebankUSA preserves your baby’s placental tissue using the same steps taken for processing stem cells for their FDA-approved clinical trials. No other cord blood company can claim that.
Tissue banking is simply one additional layer of protection and peace of mind for you and your family offered by LifebankUSA.
Services Offered by LifebankUSA
So, as a recap, LifebankUSA is the only company offering the most ways to protect what’s precious. Three options that only LifebankUSA can offer:
- You can choose to bank cord blood only – and have the purest cord blood stem cells banked possible.
- Add tissue banking for its potential in regenerative medicine – and have your baby’s placenta tissue stored using the same process as done for LifebankUSA’s FDA-approved clinical trials.
- Bank cord blood, placenta blood and tissue for the most potential treatment options for your family, along with the greatest peace of mind.
LifebankUSA’s Commitment
LifebankUSA achieves the purest collection of cord blood stem cells through its unique red blood cell depletion process, resulting in over a 99% purity level.7 LifebankUSA’s customized approach uses a manual cell separation process giving your collection the personal attention it deserves. Other cord blood banks use an automated process delivering lower purity levels,8,9 which can lead to transplant complications.10 LifebankUSA’s red blood cell removal process eliminates the need for additional manipulation and preparation of your baby’s stem cells, should a transplant ever be needed. Our first commitment has always been to provide the best possible service to the parents who choose LifebankUSA.
Processing Procedures
From the moment your collection kit arrives here, until the time it gets safely stored at their state-of-the-art facility, their technicians process your baby’s stem cells using the latest technology in their highly-controlled and sterile lab. During processing, stem cells are separated and collected from the plasma, and tests are conducted to determine cell count, cell viability and the number of CD34+ stem cells.
Once processing is complete, lab specialists transfer your stem cells to a transplant cartridge for preservation, where they are cryopreserved in a vapor-phase liquid nitrogen storage tank at approximately -190°C. The temperature is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
LifebankUSA has released cord blood stem cell units for sibling transplants, resulting in 100% survival rates in treating both hemoglobinopathies and malignant diseases.7 Our processing procedures are tested and validated, giving you confidence that your collection is well preserved and transplant-ready.
Thanks to LifebankUSA, parents can have the peace of mind and significant benefits for their babies and family for many years to come.
Have you or do you know anyone who has done cord blood banking, placenta blood banking or tissue banking?
I looked into this after my first son was born, but it was way too expensive 🙁
This is the first time I’m learning about this. I’m amazed this is possible. Modern medicine blows my mind every single day.
I’m trying to convince right now. I will give this some serious thought.
I wish cord banking had been a thing when my kids were born. I would have done it in a heartbeat.
We did not do it when my kids were little, but I know several people who have done it recently. It’s a great option that can really help down the road if it’s needed medically!
My daughter has a genetic disorder, and she is expecting a baby in the spring. She has been looking into cord blood banking and is strongly considering it.
This definitely sounds like a good option. I considered doing it for my second child and it’s even more accessible now.
So informative. I’ve heard the term but not understood it, it’s amazing how medicine has evolved!
I did not have this information when my kids were babies. Food for thought, that’s for sure.
When my kids were babies this idea was becoming popular but there really wasn’t a method to store or access the cord blood. It’s great things are advancing.
I dont anyone who has donated their cord blood, but it is an awesome idea.
I wish I had known about this when I was having kids. It sounds like an extra layer of security to ensure your children’s health.
I do have a few friends who opted to bank their baby’s cord blood, but never heard of placenta or tissue banking until reading your post. It all sounds like a great way to invest in a child’s healthy future.
I have heard a little about this, but never understood it. It is an option to consider.
I had no idea there were so many different options. I wish i would have done this with my kids.
I wish I’d done this. There wasn’t a whole lot of talk about it back when I had my babies.
This was a very interesting read and I will definitely look into this when I have children. Thanks for sharing this information.
Cord Blood Banking wasn’t discussed much when I was pregnant, but I wish I had done this. So many possible life saving procedures can be done now!
I think cord blood banking is so great. So much good can come from it.