Cord Blood Banking: Private Banking and Public Donation

Storing stem cell-rich cord blood is one of the most effective ways to protect families from life-threatening diseases. However, there are families who prefer not to store the cord blood. This does not mean that the cord blood should not be collected. The possibility that the cord blood stem cells would be needed by other people is still great.

There are actually two cord blood banking options which families can explore: Family or Private Cord Blood Banking or Public Donation.

Family Cord Blood Banking

If your family has a medical history of diseases treatable by stem cell therapy, you must realize the importance of storing your unborn child’s cord blood. In cases where your child or a family member becomes sick with such diseases, you will have a ready source of stem cells. Knowing that you have this form of insurance provides you with peace of mind and security.

According to experts, the survival rate is twice as high if the cord blood stem cells used for treatment were obtained from a relative compared to a non-relative. Almost every hospital in the country can collect cord blood through private cord blood banking facilities. Any family can choose to store cord blood except when the sample is HIV positive.

Samples collected during childbirth will be cryopreserved and exclusively stored. It will be ready for release should a medical emergency arises. Storing cord blood for your family’s use provides convenience like no other. Your family will only have to pay a minimal storage fee aside from the reasonable fees required for collection, processing and initial storage.

Public Donation

Some families, who can not afford the cord blood collection and storage fees or feels that they are not at risk for any of the diseases treatable with stem cell therapy, should still participate in cord blood banking programs as a Donor.

The medical community has a great demand for cord blood to be used for treatment or research purposes. Although the survival rate for unrelated cord blood donors is generally lower, there is still that big possibility that your child’s cord blood stem cells is compatible and can save another person’s life.

By checking your family’s medical history, the eligibility of your child’s cord blood can be determined. There are public donation programs available in many hospitals or birth clinics across the country, which can collect and store cord blood stems cells at NO cost at all.

Unfortunately, once the cord blood has been stored and made available to the public, there are no guarantees that it would be available to you should your family requires it. Also, you will have to pay a considerable amount to obtain cord blood stem cells from public cord blood banks.

Currently, public cord blood banks work together with the national government under the National Marrow Donor Program. The first grant for National Cord Blood banking program was given by the National Institute of Health to leading cord blood expert Dr. Pablo Rubinstein, following the first successful cord blood transplant performed in1988. Since then, over 3,500 Fanconi’s anemia-patient were treated using the same procedure.

Controversies

Both private and public cord blood banks have suffered from controversies surrounding the collection and storage of cord blood. Here are some of those issues:

• Safety: because the collection, testing and storage of cord blood is relatively new, issues about safety are being raised. For starters, many genetic disorders like immunodeficiencies and congenital anemia do not become apparent until much later. This means that upon screening the cord blood, it would pass the test and the recipient of the cord blood will likely develop this disease.

 
• Cost: the high cost of maintaining a cord blood services facility poses a problem to both public and private cord blood banks. Public cord blood banks do not have enough funding to support different racial groups whereas private cord blood banks are being criticized for supposedly preying on new parents.

 
• Medical issues: usually involves the collection of the cord blood wherein clamping might be done too soon and could result to lower blood volume as well as increased susceptibility to anemia.

 
• Ethics and legality: some doctors and patients have claimed that cord blood banks have provided them with misleading information.