Cord Blood Testing and Banking

Cord blood is the blood left in the umbilical cord after a baby is born. The umbilical cord connects a mother to her unborn baby during pregnancy. It contains blood vessels that bring nourishment to the baby and remove waste products.

After a baby is born, the cord is clamped shut and cut. The blood that remains in the cord may be collected and used in two ways: Cord blood testing. This means doing a variety of tests on cord blood to check the baby's health.

Tests may also be done on cord blood if a health care provider is concerned that the baby may have a health condition, such as an infection or an acid-base (pH) imbalance. Some hospitals may routinely collect cord blood samples to do tests to check a baby's general health. Cord blood banking.

This means saving blood from the baby's umbilical cord in a special facility called a cord blood bank. The blood is saved so it can be used to treat certain diseases. Umbilical cord blood is full of special cells called stem cells.

Stem cells can develop into many different types of cells found in the body, such as blood, brain, muscle, and organ cells. Stem cells from cord blood can be used to treat certain blood disorders, including leukemia, Hodgkin disease, and some types of anemia. They can also be used to treat certain inherited metabolic and immune system disorders.

Researchers are studying whether stem cell treatment can also help treat other types of diseases. If you choose to save your baby's cord blood, you have two main options: You can donate the blood to a public cord blood bank. Cord blood in public banks may be used by anyone who needs a cord blood transplant.

This treatment replaces diseased blood cells with healthy cells from cord blood. In certain cases, donated cord blood may be used for research. If you donate your baby's cord blood, there's no cost to you.

But only certain hospitals can collect cord blood for storage in public cord blood banks.; You can save the blood in a family (private) cord blood bank. This allows you to use the blood for a family member who may benefit from treatment with cord blood. You may be interested in this option if you have a family history of health conditions that can be treated with stem cells from cord blood.

You will usually have to pay a fee for the blood collection and storage at a private cord blood bank. But if you or a close family member already has a disease that needs treatment with cord blood, you may qualify for free or low-cost cord blood banking.;

How to prepare

For cord blood testing, you don't need to prepare anything.

For cord blood banking, you need to plan in advance. If you're considering donating cord blood or privately banking it, talk with your provider at least three months before your baby is due. This will give you time to:

• Decide whether to donate the blood to a public bank or save it in a family cord blood bank.
• Get information about your options for collecting the blood. Not all hospitals can collect blood for public cord blood banks. If you choose to use a family cord blood bank, you'll need to select which bank to use.
• Finish paperwork about your medical history and your family health history.
• Receive a cord blood collection kit if you are using a family cord blood bank. Your provider will use this kit to collect and send the blood to the bank.

Sample type

Blood