Cord Blood Banking

In order to save blood cord samples the birth must take place at a hospital that accepts those donations and preserves them. Cord blood samples that cannot be banked because of poor quality still may be used in research. Umbilical cord blood is treated and frozen to store it.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages families to donate the cord blood that is normally discarded at birth to cord blood banks for use by other individuals in needs, this is public blood banking. Private cord blood banks often catch families during vulnerable moments and promote hefty private storage contracts, "just in case" it is needed. Cord blood banking is a subject that the parents should consider, and make decisions about before labor commences.

Storing cord blood in private banks for personal or family use is often promoted as a general "insurance policy." Donating it publicly makes it available for those in need who have immune disorders. Chances of a child needing a transplant of their own cord blood vary from one in one thousand to one in 200,000.

Publicly banked cord blood goes on the National Marrow Donor Program list. Genetic and infectious disease screening will be done on the sample, and the parents will be informed of any abnormalities that are found. If the child develops a genetic or immunologic or malignant condition, the parents should notify the blood bank that is storing the sample.