When a baby is born anywhere in the world there is quite rightly great joy at the new life it brings. New parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts all wish the new baby health, wealth and happiness. Foremost of all of those is health, and we all wish that all children could remain in good health. Sadly, this is not the case and some children will inevitably go on to develop serious life threatening diseases such as leukaemia and cancer. Many of these children will die simply because of the lack of a suitable bone marrow donor. There is a simple and effective solution to this problem and this is umbilical cord blood stem cell collection and storage.

When a baby is delivered and the umbilical cord is cut, there is still a large amount of blood in the umbilical cord. This blood contains the life giving stem cells which could potentially one day save that baby’s life. Stem cells are cells that are capable of replacing diseased, damaged or simply old tissue. They are present in everyone on this planet and are responsible for replacing blood cells, skin, and the lining of our digestive system on a daily basis. In the case of the umbilical cord blood, the stem cells are in large numbers and they are capable of forming all of the cells of the blood system. Current research also shows that these cells can potentially repair damaged heart tissue following a heart attack and possibly be useful in the repair of damaged nerve cells. These cells are truly givers of life.

The collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells is very simple. Once the baby has been born and the umbilical cord has been clamped and cut, it is simply a matter of putting a needle into the umbilical cord and allowing the blood to drain into a specially designed collection bag. The process takes no more than a 2-5 minutes, it does not require any special training and it does not interfere in any way with the birthing process or different birthing practices, for example, water births. The bag is then placed into a shipping container and can either be brought to the laboratory by the parent or sent via a courier. The blood sample does not need any special treatment, it is kept at room temperature, and it is stable for up to 72 hours following collection. The collection of umbilical cord blood as described has no effect whatsoever on the baby or the mother.

On arrival at the laboratory, the sample is carefully assessed and processed. This process enables the concentration of the life giving stem cells which are then frozen in liquid nitrogen. The stem cells are completely stable at this very low temperature and can be stored for many years. Samples of umbilical cord stem cells have now been frozen for 15 years and on thawing they are as good as the day they were frozen. If the cells are needed to treat a disease in the individual or a direct relative, then the stem cells are released to the physician treating the individual precisely at the time they are needed. This means that there is no need to search for a suitable donor, a process which often fails or finds a donor when the disease is too far progressed for treatment.

When choosing an umbilical cord blood storage company, it is important to ask some critical questions. Many new banks are being established at the moment and many do not have the necessary background or expertise to provide a first class service. The questions which any client should ask a potential cord blood bank are:

•How long has the company been established?
•Can you visit the bank on request to see their facility?
•Is the annual fee guaranteed or subject to increase?
•If the specimen volume is too low is there still a charge?
•How many samples are frozen and how many have been released for transplant?
•Where does the bank store the samples?
•Does the fee cover all aspects of processing and storage e.g. testing for infectious disease, cell counts and so on?
•Is there a fee associated with the release of a sample for transplantation?
•Does the bank have a Medical Director and a Scientific Director in personal daily contact with the bank?
•How many scientific staff are there and what is their experience?
•Does the bank offer free information consultations?
•Is the bank accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or an equivalent?
•Does the bank work to the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System?
•Does the bank have a low income policy to allow clients on low income to store privately if they wish?
•Does the bank offer public banking as well as private banking?
•Does the bank use state of the art techniques and how are these updated?

If any of these questions cannot be answered clearly and precisely, then the bank in question will probably be unable to offer the level of service deserved by all cord blood storage clients.

In the USA, umbilical cord blood stem cell storage is now common practice. Public awareness in Canada must now be raised. These are extremely valuable cells which should not be wasted at birth but should be collected, stored, and potentially used to treat a range of diseases.

Dr. Peter Hollands is Scientific Director of Cells for Life Ltd, a private cord blood bank in Markham, Ontario.
See www.cellsforlife.com for more info.