Family Cord Blood Banking vs. Public Cord Blood Storage
What should expecting parents consider when deciding between family cord blood banking and the public cord blood storage of their newborn’s cord blood stem cells?
In family cord blood banks, parents pay the cord blood banking company to collect, process, and store the cord blood exclusively for family use. The family owns the cord blood stem cells, which can be made immediately available to a family member should there be a need. Family cord blood banks attract expecting parents who want the peace of mind knowing that their newborn’s cord blood will be saved and immediately available should a family member need the cord blood stem cells to treat a potentially life-threatening disease or condition.
In public cord blood banks, parents give up all ownership of the cord blood stem cells. The goal of a public cord blood bank is to collect and store only the largest units of cord blood for potentially lifesaving transplants. While many expecting parents donate their newborns’ cord blood to public cord blood banks to help people requiring a lifesaving stem cell transplant, they should be made aware that in most public cord blood banks, the criteria for storing collections are so strict that in some banks more than half of all donations are discarded and never made available to the public. This is because stem cell experts and transplant physicians agree that many cord blood samples may be too small to be used in lifesaving stem cell transplants because they don’t contain enough stem cells. With this cord blood banking concern, members of the medical community have started exploring other rich sources of stem cells with the understanding that patients with access to more stem cells would also have access to improved lifesaving treatments. This research has led to the breakthrough of finding that placenta-derived stem cells, which have the potential to become different types of cells, could be isolated from the placenta with a proprietary technology so that they would be available for potential lifesaving treatment applications requiring hematopoietic (blood forming) reconstitution. This is process is now known by the medical community as Placenta-Cord banking.
With Placenta-Cord banking, parents pay the cord blood banking company to collect, process, and store stem cells derived from the placenta in addition to cord blood stem cells. Like the stem cells found in cord blood and bone marrow, placenta-derived stem cells are non-controversial and free of the political and ethical debate surrounding other types of stem cells. Placenta-Cord banking provides expecting families with the added peace of mind of knowing that they have 2 units of blood-forming stem cells instead of just 1, as offered by traditional cord blood banking services. This unique combination of placenta-derived stem cells and cord blood stem cells collects the most stem cells possible. And transplant of more stem cells has been shown to improve transplant success and patient survival in the treatment of potentially life-threatening diseases and conditions.
Regardless of whether they bank their children’s cord blood with a public or family cord blood bank, all expecting parents should be made aware of the lifesaving potential of their newborns’ cord blood and be encouraged to privately bank or donate the cord blood rather than allow for such a precious, lifesaving source to be discarded, as is often the case.
The chance that a child will use his/her own stored cells during their lifetime is estimated at 1 in 400 (J.J. Nietfeld and F. Verter). These odds may increase if there is a family history of certain blood disorders or cancers. The potential risks and benefits of stem cell transplantation vary and depend on many factors, such as the amount and quality of the stem cells collected, the HLA compatibility between recipient and donor, and the client’s overall health. Talk with your health care provider. For more information, call 1-877-LIFEBANKUSA (1-877-543-3226) or visit www.lifebankusa.com.
admin @ May 27, 2008
