What Is Cord Blood, What Is It Used For, and How Is It Collected?

In our country, cord blood practices were legally regulated in 2005 through publication in the Official Gazette of the Cord Blood Banking Regulation as the framework. July is US Cord Blood Awareness Month, an opportunity to learn more. Frozen storage may later save this baby's or a family member's life in diseases such as certain cancers.

What Is Cord Blood and What Is It Used For?

Cord blood is stored as a stem cell source for patients needing or potentially needing transplantation to treat disease. Other future uses may become possible, but no definitive scientific data yet justify storage for other purposes.

- Related Topic: What Is Stem Cell Transplantation? Which Cancers Is It Used For?

Current evidence suggests donor self-use is unlikely and limited to certain diseases. Stored cells are not more effective than cells from others. Cord blood intended for future disorders may already carry characteristics related to those disorders.

Current research estimates stored cord blood self-use at around one in 20.000 units.

Current evidence supports healthy storage for up to 15 years. But collected stem cell amounts are insufficient above 40 kg. After 12 years, blood may therefore be insufficient for the child and, unless continued storage is requested for another reason, becomes available to other patients. It can be made available earlier by choice.

Cord blood is approved for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It contains blood-forming cells used for leukemia and lymphoma and other blood cancers, as well as blood and immune disorders such as sickle cell disease and Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome, involving the immune system as treatment of its disorders.

In many blood and bone marrow cancers, disease resides in blood cells. Chemotherapy kills healthy blood-forming stem cells alongside cancer. Cord blood transplants can help supply healthy blood cells afterward.

However, cord blood alone is not a treatment. Some think stem cells can treat any disease because cord blood contains them, but scientifically this is incorrect. Uses other than providing new stem cells to bone marrow depleted during blood cancer treatment are unapproved; it cannot treat other disorders.

Cord Blood Banking

Blood is collected, frozen and stored safely for years. Freezing must carefully preserve cellular integrity and be performed by specialists.

Private banking may allow future use by your child or first- and second-degree relatives.

Donation also enables use by another patient needing hematopoietic transplantation.

Private banks must follow the Regulation, including tissue-practice rules and infectious disease testing, minimizing infection risks and ensuring biological product safety.

How Is Cord Blood Collected?

Storage involves 3 stages:

1. Stage: With obstetrician approval and no contraindicating family or pregnancy history, infectious hepatitis, AIDS, syphilis and other infection tests (HbsAg, HCV, HIV, Syphilis, CMV) taken 2 months before delivery must be acceptable. Once pregnancy completes 35 weeks, initial eligibility is established.
2. Stage: At delivery, final doctor approval, clean amniotic fluid, infant weight over 2000 gr. and collection of at least 60 cc. complete the second stage.
3. Stage: After both stages, tests must find at least %90 viability and 2 x106 viable stem cells, with acceptable infection results, for temporary storage. Negative cultures after 24-48 hours permit permanent storage.

For autologous (the child's own) storage, the family then agrees to collection, processing and annual fees, uncovered by social security or insurance. If annual fees remain unpaid for 18 months after the due date, blood becomes available for allogeneic use by others. It can be released before 12 years. Before 12 years, neither blood nor donor information may be transferred without owner consent under any circumstances. If an autologous owner dies, rights pass to heirs. No payment can be demanded for release to others, nor can donor families demand to know recipients without recipient or guardian consent.

We Draw Attention to One Article of the Regulation:

Article 24: Advertising cord blood banking in any form is prohibited. Banks may not give activities a commercial appearance or engage in scientifically unsupported, misleading, panic-inducing or misdirecting behavior. Violations are subject to relevant legislation.