Your most frequently asked questions
What is cord blood?
The term “cord blood” is used to define the blood collected from the umbilical cord and the placenta after childbirth.
What stem cells are found in the cord blood?
The umbilical cord and placenta are important stem cell sources. They are different from the embryonic stem cells in a fertilised egg and from those in the organism of a child or adult, because of their greater immaturity, sterility, cellularity and plasticity: they can in fact multiply and differentiate in blood and in the cells of the immune system as well as in other types of cell.
How do you collect and preserve cord blood?
The collection of cord blood is painless and does not involve any risk for mother or child. Immediately after birth, the blood is collected from the clamped and cut cord. The stem cells contained in it reach the peak of their vitality two days after collection. This guarantees sufficient time for the sample to arrive in the laboratory. In the laboratory the cells are analysed, processed and cryogenically frozen. Once frozen, they remain vital for many years.
What is the purpose of conserving cord stem cells? Can they really be useful?
20 years after the first successful transplantation, cord stem cells are being used to a greater extent for treating numerous onco-hematologic pathologies and immunological diseases; they are also being tested for regenerative medicine applications, through autologous, intra-familial and extra-familial allogeneic transplantations.
There is no history of particular diseases in my family so it’d be better to donate. Is it true that I can retrieve it later?
There is a 98% possibility of retrieving your sample donated to an Italian public biobank. In Italy, however, despite the 19 public national banks, there is still a high risk (75%) of NOT being able to donate your cord blood. There are various reasons for this: many healthcare facilities, and first of all private clinics, do not have a public donation service; there are organizational problems for transferring samples if the birth occurs during the weekend or on public holidays; donor selection criteria are much stricter for donation than for private storage (transplants between blood relations need less cell quantity/quality than those between non-blood relations).
What type of biobanks preserve umbilical cord blood?
There are three types of cord blood banks:
- PUBLIC BANKS
- FAMILY BANKS
- MIXED BANKS (like Bio-Vault Laboratory)
Public banks store donated cord blood for potential use on patients undergoing transplants. The donor remains anonymous. If you donate your baby’s cord blood to a public bank, your donation can save a life but you don’t have the guarantee of being able to use it for a family member. Family banks store the blood privately, linking it to the donor so that it can be used by the family if necessary, by the baby or by a compatible blood relation.
Who can donate cord blood to a public biobank?
All mothers free of any disease, who have not taken medication during pregnancy or had a fever, who are not Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C antibody or HIV positive and who decide to give birth in a hospital that has an agreement with a public biobank. You just have to contact the medical administration of the hospital where you give birth and if accepted, carry out the donation procedure (sign an informed consent, give your medical case history and perform the blood tests mentioned above).
Who can store their cord blood in a family bank?
Except for rare cases of medical complications, the majority of mothers can store their cord blood for family use in a private biobank. It doesn’t matter where you live or give birth, because you can obtain a collection kit to take to the hospital that includes instructions for shipping the blood to the laboratory. If you want to store your stem cells for family use, remember to ask how the medical administration of the hospital how to obtain the export licence for cord blood at least a month before the presumed date of birth.
What happens if someone from my family has a disease treatable with cord stem cells?
If your baby’s cord blood is already needed to treat a family member, you could be allowed free “Dedicated Auotologous Preservation” with a public biobank offering a special plan for donation between family members. In this event you must provide detailed clinical records and present the application filled in by your doctor.
What happens if the biobank fails?
A private storage contract that respects and protects parents’ rights should guarantee preservation for the entire duration specified. In this regard BioVault boasts the best security in Europe: not only for its certification and accreditation but also because it is authorized for donation by the NHS, the British National Health Service.
Can my child use his or her own cord blood?
To date, many of the diseases for which children have to undergo stem cell transplantations (genetic diseases) need healthy cells coming from another person and not from the actual patient. Remember that around 1/3 of transplants occur between siblings. Instead, transplantations between adults are divided up almost equally into transplants with own cells and transplants from compatible donor. In future, thanks to the advances in regenerative medicine, the number of treatments and the probability of using cord stem cells for allogeneic or autologous purposes could grow considerably. There is also the possibility of performing diagnostic tests on the cord samples as “biological witness” at birth.
I didn’t do it for my first child, why do it now?
It is between siblings that the search for a compatible donor for a transplant has the most probability of success; just think that a total compatibility of at least 25% between siblings arrives at a partial compatibility of 39%; in addition, the absence of an immunological experience (from environmental or food infections or from viruses) makes cord stem cells a valuable biological reserve for the newborn baby’s entire family. The compatibility drops to just 1 in 50,000/ 100,000, depending on race, between two non-blood relations; the probability of finding a sample in the international registers for Caucasians rises to 50% -80%.
How long does it take you to deliver the sample to the laboratory?
The average is within 36 hours.
Do you also delivery on public holidays?
If necessary we have a second courier that also collects samples on public holidays.
Is it possible to use the sample in Italy?
YES, there are excellent centres in Milano, Pavia, Genova, Roma and Modena. In Italy, the sample import licence is issued each time by the Ministry of Health – Office VIII – Prevention and Communications Department – Health Prevention Head Office, in conformity with law 219/2005.
How much time is needed?
We deliver the sample during the 24 hours before transplantation.
Are the test costs for using and/or shipping the sample included in the service ?
YES, it is important know that there are no additional costs. Ever.
Do you perform genetic tests on the sample?
NO, it would be a waste of the cord sample since it can be carried out with a peripheral blood sample or by swabbing the mucosa inside the cheek.
Is it possible to meet a local Smartbank representative?
This can be arranged in almost all localities.
Is it possible to spread the cost?
YES, with monthly rates for 12, 18, 24 or 36 months.
Why should I choose SmartBank ?
- meticulous assistance and professionalism; the client receives constant scientific and legislative updates for the entire storage duration
- max guarantee on sample suitability
- max guarantee on its use worldwide
- max guarantee in refund policy with “right of withdrawal” formula
- no risk linked to biobank failure
- contract regulated by competent court in Italy (= lower legal costs in case of litigation)
- experience in exports for using samples
- total transparency and detailed certification for every service carried out
