Since 1992, the Cord Blood Registry has been processing and storing cord blood, or “placental” blood, at their facility in Tucson, Arizona. The Cord Blood Registry is the world leader in cord blood stem cell banking.
The Cord Blood Registry's state-of-the-art laboratory and processing facility is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) for the specialized processing of hematopoietic stem cells. The Cord Blood Registry also offers educational resources for doctors and hospitals. Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth. Typically, the cord is discarded; but now, research has shown that the umbilical cord of a baby contains a rich source of stem cells that can assist the child and other family members in the event of medical trauma.
The Cord Blood Registry must collect the baby’s cord blood stem cells within fifteen minutes after birth, and once stored, no indication of aging appears to occur. The Cord Blood Registry recommends saving your baby’s umbilical cord stem cells for the following reasons:
- The immune cells in cord blood are "younger" and are more likely than bone marrow to be a suitable match between family members. The Cord Blood Registry insists that some studies have shown that survival rates double when the patient receives a stem cell transplant from a relative.
- Cord blood stem cells are associated with less graft vs. host disease (GVHD) as compared to treatments with other sources of stem cells. This type of rejection is the leading cause of death in stem cell patients.
- Your baby's stem cells are immediately available from the Cord Blood Registry if needed, and may help with more rapid treatment.
These types of stem cells have made a medical breakthrough in treatment for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Diabetes, as well as many forms of Leukemia and other diseases. The Cord Blood Registry uses the stem cells primarily to be used in transplants to regenerate the patient’s immune system after being treated for chemotherapy and or radiation treatments. Unfortunately, during these medical treatments, stem cells in the body are destroyed along with the cancer cells. Stem cells stored at the Cord Blood Registry can replace those cells that were destroyed.
When the Cord Blood Registry collects the stem cells from the umbilical cord, the cells are frozen at the Cord Blood Registry Facility until needed. The Cord Blood Registry suggests that stem cells are a better match between a patient and the donor instead of bone marrow because the cells are younger so they can double the survival rate of a patient, are more readily available than bone marrow, and the chance for rejection is lessened. According to the Cord Blood Registry, more than 4,000 cord blood transplants have been performed.
While cord blood storage is expensive, the Cord Blood Registry offers free storage to needy families who have a family member with a treatable illness. More information about the Cord Blood Registry may be found at their Web site at: Cordblood.com/index.asp.
By R. S. Wagner