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Discussing Cord Blood Banking With Your Patients

In today's world of data sharing, your patients have access to a wealth of information on cord blood banking. Even with this information, it can be difficult for families to decide whether to bank their baby's stem cells, whether to donate cells or bank them privately, and which private bank to use.

Parents have just one chance with each child to save stem cells for their family's future use-so they should ensure that the cord blood bank they choose is the right one. With that in mind, it's important to note that LifebankUSA is the only bank to offer Placental and Cord Blood Banking, providing more lifesaving cells for your patients' families. Learn about the LifebankUSA Advantage.

Private banking ensures that your patients have a 100% human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match for that child. And their baby's stem cells may provide a good match for other close blood relatives as well.

Donating Cord Blood

Patients who decide against private banking may wish to donate the baby's cord blood to a public bank. Families should be aware, however, that public banks, which rely on donations of cord blood, cannot guarantee that a good HLA match will be available. According to the National Cancer Institute, the chances of obtaining HLA-matched stem cells from an unrelated donor are only about 50%.¹ And that's important because the success of transplantation can depend on how well the HLA antigens of the donor's stem cells match those of the recipient's stem cells. The higher the number of matching antigens, the greater the chance that the patient's body will accept the donor's stem cells. The fact is, many patients who need stem cell transplants don't receive them because they are unable to find a suitable match from a public bank.

If your patient chooses to donate, there are a few steps she'll need to take before delivery. First, she will need to obtain a collection kit from a cord blood bank. This kit may include a family medical history questionnaire, basic collection materials, and a consent form. The consent form must be signed before onset of active labor, and therefore, before the cord blood collection.

This form typically contains information on the tests that are performed on the cord blood, such as screenings for infectious diseases and hereditary hematologic diseases. The form also will indicate how parents will be contacted if the test results are abnormal.

If the donation is large enough and meets all of the required standards, it will be cryogenically stored for potential transplantation if a match is found. It may also be used for quality improvement and research.

Whatever your patients' choice, banking stem cells is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.