CORD BLOOD BANKING
Currently, banked stems cells from umbilical cord blood are mainly being used to treat cancerous blood disorders, such as leukemia and lymphoma. There are many potential future uses for these stem cells, but they remain largely experimental.
There are two options for umbilical cord blood banking: public and private. If neither is chosen, the cord blood is simply discarded as medical waste.
The public option is an altruistic donation to the stem cell bank at Canadian Blood Services. BC Women’s is one of four collection sites in Canada. To donate, women can simply register online.
In the private option, the stems cells are stored for the exclusive use of the child/family. Prospective parents contact a company to purchase a cord blood collection kit that will be taken to the hospital for the medical team to collect the stem cells at the time of delivery. There is a one-time collection fee (approx. $1,000) and a yearly storage fee ($200-250), with pre-paid packages available. Cord tissue can also be stored. There are two main providers in the Vancouver area: Healthcord and Insception Lifebank.
Our OBs are strong advocates for the public cord blood bank.
Private cord banking is very expensive, and has one major limitation:
It’s extremely unlikely the stem cells will ever be used.
Studies estimate the probability of using one's own cord blood for autologous transplantation to be between 1 in 20,000 and 1 in 250,000.
Why?
The diseases currently being treated with stem cell transplants are rare.
If a child requires stem cell transplantation, cells from a healthy donor are often preferred, as the child’s cells may carry the same genetic or congenital disorder that caused the disease.
A typical unit of cord blood has enough stem cells for transplantation in a child of up to about 80lbs. For larger children or adults, additional units stored in public use banks are still needed.