Private Vs. Public Banking
Cryopreservation Or Freezing Of Cord Blood Cells Is To Protect The Cells For Future Medical Use.
Currently cord blood stem cells can be stored for decades with the potential to use for lifetime, help to maintain cell integrity, to ensure easy access and availability.
Types of umbilical cord blood banking I can do.
Public cord blood banks and Private (or family) cord blood banks are the two distinct types of cord blood banks. They differ from one another in a few ways.
Public cord blood banking
Public cord blood banks might be compared to sizable donation facilities. You are donating your baby’s cord blood so that it can be used to save the life of an unrelated person. Most medical professionals advise you to donate your cord blood to a public bank because it benefits others without putting your health at risk. Each year, thousands of people ask for stem cell donations. The stem cells in public banks can be used by anyone who matches.
Some details about public cord blood banks include:
- It’s free if your hospital is trained to collect cord blood and works with a public cord blood bank.
- The cord blood is donated to someone who needs it or for medical research.
- Drug Administration regulates all public cord blood banks to ensure its collected and stored according to certain safety standards.
- It’s anonymous. No one knows the cord blood is from your baby.
- There are eligibility requirements, so not everyone can donate.
Public cord blood banks, which are usually non-profit organisations, gather and preserve cord blood for use by anyone who is a match for an available blood unit and needs a hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
Some systems permit remote cord blood collection and delivery to more centralised banking facilities, although they have availability and scope restrictions. Each cord blood unit in public cord blood banks is characterised, and the parameters are entered into a public database for medical professionals to access if a patient requires stem cells for treatments.
Private cord blood banking
You can store your baby’s cord blood in a private blood bank. This ensures that only your family can use it. Private blood banks are helpful for families with a history of health conditions that can be treated with stem cells. It’s also beneficial if you have a family member currently needing a stem cell transplant.
When parents are interested in cord blood banking, they’re usually referring to private blood banking. These are for-profit enterprises that hold a collection of cord blood for families that are willing and able to pay for that service.
Private cord blood banking can be costly and has limited practical use. These businesses typically provide a collection kit to the family, and the obstetrician or midwife who assists with the delivery is usually in charge of retrieving the cord blood. The resulting cord blood unit is then kept there for the family, who pay a price for initial collection and processing as well as an annual cost for ongoing storage. It can then be delivered to that company’s stem cell processing lab. These charges normally total $100 each year and $2,000 for initiation.
Other details about Private cord blood banks include:
- You’ll pay an initial collection fee and then annual storage fees. Fees may vary from One bank to other bank.
- You own your cord blood. Only your family can use it.
- The chances of needing to use cord blood are very low. In fact, your child usually can’t use their own cord blood.
Some parents believe that using private storage will protect their baby becomes sick. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. It is quite low that your child will be able to use their own cord blood. Most medical professionals only advise keeping your child’s cord blood in a private bank if a sibling could benefit from stem cells for a congenital illness. The majority of cord blood that is privately banked is discarded since the likelihood that you will ever need it is so small.
Limitations of Private Cord Blood Banking
While some families perceive security in preserving the cord blood of their own members in private banks for emergency use. But while a private cord blood registry would seem like a fallback option, there is no reliable data on the chance that children will ever require their own preserved cells. Additionally, if your baby has a genetic problem (such as muscular dystrophy or spina bifida), which commonly prevents accessing their cord blood reserves, the stem cells would have the same condition as your baby.
The potential lack of adequate cells for a transplant is yet another disadvantage of privately retaining cord blood. It is common practice to only draw 50 to 200 millilitres of blood from each umbilical cord. A youngster can be treated with a small number of matching blood cells, but not an adult.
Additionally, not every woman can donate their cord blood. For example, you are typically not eligible if you have a history of cancer, have taken chemotherapy, or have received treatment for a blood illness like HIV or hepatitis. Additionally, when giving cord blood with a premature baby or multiples, there might not be enough blood to collect. Whether you use a public or private bank, you must get checked for a number of illnesses (including hepatitis and HIV). If test results indicate that you have an illness or disease, you won’t be able to store your cord blood.
Recommendations by ACOG,23 AAP24 and ASBMT
