Cord Blood & Uses to Treat Disease About Stem Cells

Private Banking vs. Public Donation

After cord blood is collected it can be banked, frozen at very low temperatures and stored, for future use. Cord blood can be donated to public cord blood banks and made available for anyone who needs to use it, or it can be retained in private banks for ones own use or use by a family member.

In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that there are about 800,000 units of cord blood stored at public banks, and over 5 million units banked for private use worldwide. Even though there are over 6 times as many units stored in private banks, public banks have released about 30 times more units for therapeutic use.

Families storing cord blood should seek facilities that have been accredited by reputable organizations. Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapies (FACT) sets international standards and accredits cord blood banks and cell transplantation programs. The organization AABB accredits facilities that provide banking and transfusion services as well as blood centers. Families can find a list of AABB Accredited Facilities online.

Private banks generally charge an initial fee for collecting, testing, and registering the blood, as well as yearly storage fees. In return, only the family has access to the stored stem cell sample.

According to an article published in the journal PLOS Medicine, the probability of needing to transplant your own blood stem cells is less than 1 in 20,000. Should a patient require a stem cell transplant that uses their own blood stem cells or the stem cells of a sibling, these cells can usually be obtained at the time necessary by bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell collection.

Additionally, if an individual has an inherited genetic blood or immune disorder that requires a stem cell transplant, the blood stem cells harvested from the cord blood of that individual will have the same genetic mutation(s), and therefore cannot be used to cure the patient without additional gene therapy. Studies are ongoing to try to genetically correct mutated stem cells, however, more research is needed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages private banking if the donor is a full match to a relative who has a disease that is treatable by stem cell transplantation. In fact, some private banks may store cord blood for free if the child has a full sibling with a disease treatable by blood stem cell transplant.

At this time the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that families donate cord blood to public cord blood banks, rather than storing it in a private bank for biological insurance against a future issue.

Since patients need stem cells from a donor who is an immunological match, it is crucial to increase the genetic diversity of cord blood available in public banks. It is therefore important that people from diverse genetic and ethnic backgrounds donate cord blood to public banks.

When a family donates cord blood to a public bank, it is done altruistically for the benefit of anonymous recipients or stem cell research. The family gives up rights to the blood, and the bank is responsible for collecting, processing, testing, and storing it.

In 2014, there were more than 160 public banks in 36 countries. Databases of public cord blood banks around the world can be found through The Parent's Guide to Cord Banking and the World Marrow Donor Association. Additional information can also be found on the EuroStemCell website.

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Cord Blood & Uses to Treat Disease About Stem Cells