Once expectant parents decide to save or donate their baby's cord blood, many are at a loss of what to do next. Although the process of saving or donating cord blood varies, some general procedures are common.
The Save or Donate Decision
Expectant parents should carefully weigh whether to save their baby's cord blood for their baby in a private cord blood bank or donate the cord blood to a public cord blood bank. Many private cord blood banks stress that saving a baby's cord blood might someday save his life, the chances of this happening are extremely rare. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that the likelihood that a child would benefit from a stem-cell transplant from his own cord blood to be the range of one in 1,000 to one in 200,000. The costs of saving cord blood at a private bank are also significant for many families. Donating cord blood to a public cord blood bank, on the other hand, is free and the cord blood might save the life of a sick child.
Preparation
Expectant parents interested in banking their baby's cord blood should begin the planning process early in the pregnancy. While planning doesn't have to be completed until four to six weeks before delivery, finding the right place to bank the cord might take time.
Some doctors receive financial incentives for new sign-ups at private blood banks, so parents should do their own research about which cord blood bank would be best for them. Once the expectant parents choose a cord blood bank, they should complete all necessary paperwork and order a kit. This kit collects the cord blood when the baby is born.
Those who elect to donate their baby's cord blood will typically complete a questionnaire about their medical history. The expectant mother also must have blood work done to screen for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, according to the March of Dimes.
Collection
The collection of the cord blood takes place in the hospital immediately after the birth of the baby. Doctors usually collect the cord blood before the delivery of the placenta in vaginal births and after suturing the mother's uterus in cesarean deliveries. In both cases, the collection typically occurs within 10 minutes of delivery, according to the March of Dimes. Although the exact method of collecting the cord blood varies depending upon the hospital, the doctor will generally collect the blood by inserting a needle into a vein in the umbilical cord and drain the blood into a bag from the collection kit.
Transportation, Processing and Storage
A courier will take the blood to a laboratory or the blood bank for processing. The laboratory or blood bank will then test the blood for infections and other abnormalities, give it an identification number and then separate the stem cells from the rest of the blood, according to the Nemours Foundation's website KidsHealth.org. The stem cells are then cryogenically frozen and placed into storage until needed.
