At some point during your pregnancy (probably during the second trimester), your doctor will bring up the topic of cord blood banking. This is when a small amount of blood is taken from your baby’s umbilical cord (after he/she is born) and stored for potential future use. 

Why Would I Want to Store My Baby’s Umbilical Cord Blood?

Because it’s full of stem cells (the cells from which all other cells are created).

So? Down the road, the stem cells from the cord blood can be cultivated and used (like a bone marrow transplant) to treat certain diseases that your baby, another family member, or someone from the general public could develop. Cord blood transplants are currently used to treat about 80 diseases and have the potential to treat many more.1  These diseases are rare, however, so it’s unlikely that your child would ever need to use his/her stem cells. 

Insider Info: There are certain types of diseases, such as leukemia (a kind of cancer) in which a child cannot use his/her own stem cells for treatment. Why not? Because the stem cells from the cord blood may be affected by the disease. For example, in the case of leukemia, the stem cells may have already undergone precancerous changes. 

As you near the third trimester, your doctor may bring up the topic of cord blood banking. 

What’s That? It’s when a small amount of blood is taken from your baby’s umbilical cord (after he/she is born) and stored for potential future use. 

Why Would I Want to Store My Baby’s Umbilical Cord Blood: Because it’s full of stem cells (the cells from which all other cells are created).

So? Down the road, the stem cells from the cord blood can be cultivated and used (like a bone marrow transplant) to treat certain diseases that your baby, another family member, or someone from the general public could develop. Cord blood transplants are currently used to treat about 80 diseases and have the potential to treat many more.1  These diseases are rare, however, so it’s unlikely that your child would ever need to use his/her stem cells. 

Insider Info: There are certain types of diseases, such as leukemia (a kind of cancer) in which a child cannot use his/her own stem cells for treatment. Why not? Because the stem cells from the cord blood may be affected by the disease. For example, in the case of leukemia, the stem cells may have already undergone precancerous changes. 

Should I Store Umbilical Cord Tissue In Addition to The Cord Blood? 

Storing umbilical cord tissue is also an option, but one that comes with an additional cost. Although the research is still cooking, it’s conceivable that umbilical cord tissue could be used to cultivate cells that could treat diseases not covered by the umbilical cord stem cells.  

Common Question: How is the Cord Blood Collected? Will the Procedure Hurt My Baby?

Cord Blood is Collected Through a Painless Process. Here are the Steps in a Nutshell:

1. Two clamps are placed on the umbilical cord and the cord is cut (by the doctor or by your partner) between the clamps.

2. Your doctor then uses a needle to draw blood from your baby’s umbilical vein (the part of the umbilical cord still attached to the placenta, not the part attached to your baby).

Insider Info: Docs try to extract roughly 3-5 ounces (i.e. half a cup) of blood from the umbilical vein.

3. The cord blood is then put into a collection bag and taken to a cord blood bank for storage.

Insider Info: Cord blood banking is an option for women who deliver vaginally AND for those who give birth via C-section.

What Are My “Cord Blood Banking” Options?

There are 2 Ways to “Bank” (i.e. to Store) Your Baby’s Cord Blood.

1. Private Cord Blood Banking: This option may protect your child in the unlikely event that he/she develops one of the rare conditions that stem cells help treat. There’s a cost involved though: usually $1,500-2,000 for the initial storage, then $100-150 per year to continue the storage (or you can pay a larger lump sum). The price basically doubles if you decide to bank cord tissue as well.

What’s in it for Me? The cord blood could help your child or a family member one day. 

2. Public Cord Blood Banking: In this case, you would donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood to aid the greater good. 

What’s in it for Me? Good karma. Plus, it’s free.

Insider Info: Public cord blood banks don’t typically allow women who are pregnant with twins (or higher order multiples) to donate their babies’ cord blood. Why not? Because the sample size is often too small. Plus, they worry about mixing up the samples. Women who have twins (or more) CAN, however, privately store their babies’ cord blood.

So, How Do I Choose Between Private Cord Blood Banking, Public Cord Blood Banking, and No Banking at All?

This is a family choice and there’s no right answer. Finances may also be a factor.

To help guide parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the mother of all pediatric organizations, released a policy statement about cord blood banking.2 

To Summarize, the AAP:

  • Encourages donations to public cord blood banks.
  • Discourages private cord blood banking. Exception: The one time the AAP does recommend private cord blood banking is if the newborn has a sibling with a condition that could benefit from the stem cells.

What’s the Reasoning Behind the AAP’s Recs? 

The AAP states that it’s unlikely that a child will ever need his/her cord blood stems cells, so it’s not worth the money to store them privately. When you consider the general public, however, there are a lot more people who could benefit from the stem cells. 

Once You’ve Made Your Decision, Here Are the Next Steps:

Scenario 1: I Want to Donate My Baby’s Cord Blood to a Public Bank. What Do I Need to Do?

  • Pick a cord blood bank near you. Your doctor will have some suggestions.
  • Let the program (and your doctor) know that you’re interested in public cord blood banking. Do this by 34 weeks. 
  • Answer the program’s screening questions.
  • On your delivery day, take the kit (the one you receive in the mail) to the hospital and remind your doctor that he/she needs to collect your baby’s cord blood. 
  • After the sample is collected, it will be screened for infectious diseases. After that it will be sent to the public cord blood bank by a member of the hospital staff.

Scenario 2: I’ve Decided to Privately Store My Baby’s Cord Blood. What Are the Next Steps?

  • Pay a deposit to have your baby’s cord blood banked privately.
  • Let your OB/GYN know about your decision.
  • Take the cord blood kit to the hospital on your delivery day.

    PediaTip: Remind your OB/GYN before the delivery about the need to collect the cord blood in case he/she forgets.
  • After the cord blood is collected, you or your partner (with hopefully a reminder from the nurse) must call the toll-free number on the side of the cord blood storage box to let the cord blood bank know that your specimen is ready. A courier will then pick it up and ship it to the cord blood bank. 

    Insider Info: If an insufficient amount of cord blood is obtained, don’t (totally) despair. Some cord blood banks offer a “cell amplification” service, which helps increase the number of cells collected. There’s no guarantee that it will work, but it may be worth a try.

Scenario 3: Cord Blood Banking is Not for Me.

  • No worries. Then you don’t have to do anything.

The Bottom Line

If you’re interested in either public or private cord blood banking, let your doctor know.