Cord blood is the blood left behind in the umbilical cord and placenta, immediately after childbirth. After childbirth, the healthcare practitioner cuts and clamps the umbilical cord just a few inches apart. The umbilical cord and the cord blood connect the would-be-mummy and baby-to-be physically and emotionally. 

Earlier, the umbilical cord and the cord blood used to be considered as medical waste. But, many expectant parents, during the second and third trimesters plan to store the cord blood, being aware of the potential of the cord blood stem cells. 

The umbilical cord blood is fully loaded with haematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells, which treat over 80 life-threatening diseases like blood cancer, sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia, etc. 

Cord blood banking benefits

So, when expectant parents decide to store their newborn’s stem cells, they get two options – public and private cord blood banks. In a public cord blood bank, cord blood is donated for medical or research purposes. On contrary, storing a newborn’s stem cells in private cord blood banks has several benefits: 

Risk-free cord blood collection

The child may be born via an emergency C-section or through vaginal delivery. After the baby is born, hospital staff will collect the cord blood using a sterile needle and bag, cutting and clamping the cord a few inches from the baby. There are two methods of cord blood collection: ex-utero, where a syringe is used to drain the blood cells from the umbilical cord, and in utero, where the blood is collected after the placenta is delivered. Since the cord does not have nerves, the collection process is painless and risk-free for both you and your baby. All that the expectant parents need to do is to take the cord blood collection kit with them. Finally, it is put inside cord blood collection bag for sending it to the lab for testing, processing, and storing. 

Stem cell processing

Once the cord blood is collected, it is sent to the lab for processing using advanced technology. Using smart and advanced technology ensures that there very little possibility of manual inaccuracy and the highest possibility cord blood stem cell recovery.

Proper storage of cord blood

The newborn’s stem cells are preserved in a frozen state (-190 degrees) anywhere between 21 and 75 years of the baby’s life. It would further mean that the stem cells can be used to treat life-threatening diseases even after two decades.