How Is Your Baby’s Cord Blood Collected, Processed & Preserved

How Is Your Baby’s Cord Blood Collected, Processed & Preserved

Dear parents, did you know this? Your baby is born with a lifesaving gift. It’s their cord blood, which is rich in stem cells. These cells have the power to treat over 80 life-threatening conditions, including some of the deadliest cancers. And you can preserve these stem cells for life with cord blood banking.

That said, we’re sure you’d be curious to know how your baby’s cord blood goes through the collection, processing, and finally the preservation stages. We’ll be uncovering all of that in our blog today. So keep reading!

Cord Blood Collection Process

Cord blood collection is done right after the delivery of your baby. For the collection of cord blood, the umbilical cord is clamped at both ends (the end on the mother’s side as well as her baby). After clamping, it is cut, and the stem cell-rich blood is drained into a sterile collection bag.

You can rest assured about the safety of the procedure. From clamping to cutting and then collection, the entire process is simple and safe. And it does not harm the mother or her baby in any way.

Cord Blood Processing To Harvest Stem Cells

Once the cord blood is collected, it needs to be shipped to the respective stem cell bank’s labs. After it reaches the lab, trained specialists work in sterile, controlled conditions to separate stem cells from the other components, including the red blood cells and plasma.

This process helps concentrate cells with the potential to support future medical treatments. Advanced technology is used to ensure the cells remain viable, pure, and safe for long-term storage.

Preservation Of Cord Blood Stem Cells

Once cord blood stem cells are collected and processed, the next crucial step is preservation. This helps to keep them intact and viable for decades to come.

Cryopreservation: Freezing Stem Cells for the Future

Cord blood stem cells are preserved via cryopreservation. The stem cells are cooled to extremely low temperatures (around –196°C) using liquid nitrogen. At this temperature, all cellular metabolism stops (including cell aging, genetic damage, or decay). 

While doing so, cryoprotectants (such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)) are added before freezing to prevent ice crystal formation inside stem cells. These could otherwise cause structural to stem cells.

Long-Term Storage and Viability of Stem Cells

Studies have shown that cryopreserved stem cells can remain viable for decades without losing their regenerative potential, as mentioned earlier. But that is only when they are stored in controlled conditions with continuous temperature monitoring. 

Cord blood units stored for more than 20 years have successfully been used in transplants, which demonstrates how durable the cryogenic storage can be. And this is what makes cord blood banking seem like a biological insurance for parents. It allows them to preserve these stem cells at birth, which may still be usable far into adulthood for the child or their family members to treat several deadly diseases.

List Of Diseases Treatable With Stem Cells

Here’s a list of a few diseases that stem cells can help treat:

Summing Up

Cord blood banking is a simple, safe, and non-invasive process that happens right after your baby is born. And doing so at birth helps you preserve a potential medical resource for your family that can help treat countless illnesses in the future.

If you’re expecting and wish to learn more about how it can benefit your family, you can reach out to LifeCell, a trusted name in cord blood banking. They have one of the largest stem cell repositories and a wide range of flexible plans to choose from. To learn more, you can visit their website or call 18002665533.