UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD BANKING
WHAT IS CORD BLOOD BANKING?
Cord Blood Banking involves storing of umbilical cord blood, so that it can be used in future for an individual or her family. The potential of cord blood in treating diseases of the blood and immune systems came to the fore in the mid-1990s. Ever since, the ways to store and use cord blood effectively have been developing rapidly. Today, cord blood cells are used to treat blood and immune system related genetic diseases.
THE UTILITY OF CORD BLOOD
The treatment of an unbelievably wide range of cancers, genetic diseases, and blood disorders uses cord blood stem cells. The procedure of this treatment is to infuse the cells into a patient's bloodstream. These cells then do the crucial job of repairing damaged cells and tissue. This is also known as cord blood transplant. A successful transplant leaves a person with a fresh and healthy immune system.
The cells thus collected can be used for the baby they were collected from as well as his or her sibling. Nevertheless, the physician concerned can decide otherwise depending upon the condition.
CORD BLOOD COLLECTION
As soon as a baby is born, doctors clamp the cord and separate the baby. They then insert a needle into the cord vein and drain the umbilical cord blood into a blood bag. This way, neither the mother nor the baby feels any pain. It's risk-free too. The entire process is of just less than 3 minutes and does not affect the process of delivery in any way. It can be done in both normal and caesarean deliveries.
CORD BLOOD BANKING PROCEDURE
The procedure to bank you baby's umbilical cord is very simple, safe and completely painless. The cord can be collected after a normal delivery or a cesarean section and can usually be done in under five minutes. After the cord is clamped and cut, a representative from ReeLabs immediately collects the sample and the following steps are implemented:
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Step 1: The sample is collected in a barcoded kit and transported to our lab.
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Step 2: The received sample will be tested for transmissible diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B & C, other STDs, etc.
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Step 3: Post-testing, the sample is processed in a clean room adhering to international standards of sterility and hygiene.
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Step 4: The sample is processed using our proprietary technology and the stem cells are isolated.
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Step 5: These stem cells are subjected to a quality control analysis for count, viability, purity and potency.
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Step 6: Before cryo-preservation, they are frozen at the rate of 1º C per minute till they reach -150º C. After that, a quality check is performed again and they are cryopreserved.
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Step 7: The stem cells are stored in imported cryo-containers with data logging for recording temperatures and liquid nitrogen backup systems.
All these steps ensures that your baby's precious stem cells are processed and stored in the best possible manner and obtain the maximum yield when required.
CORD TISSUE
Several types of cells are found in the tissue of a newborn's umbilical cord. And surprisingly, each of them is different, and equally potent and useful.
However, the research on cord tissue is still in its nascent stage. ReeLabs stores your baby's cord tissue, preserving all of the cells within it for your family's potential future use.
The stem cells from the cord are processed using our proprietary technology and stored cryogenically for future use myriad of life threatening disorders.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
If you want to know more about these wonderful stem cells or require any other information on stem cells in general, please contact us and we will be happy to answer all your queries.