Q&As about banking cord blood stem cells

Quite simply, stem cells are very early cells, blank cells if you like, that can develop into almost all other types of cell and tissue. Stem cells are found throughout the body, but especially in bone marrow, in peripheral blood (your circulating blood) and in umbilical cord blood. The stem cells found in cord blood are particularly versatile, collected using a straightforward technique and, because they’re brand new, they’re also at their most vital.

Embryonic stem cells are found in very early embryos up to a few weeks after conception – these cells have the potential to grow into a human being. The stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood aren’t as powerful, and couldn’t grow into a person. In fact, if they weren’t stored, they’d just be discarded along with the placenta and umbilical cord after birth.

Scientists have shown that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells which can go on to produce many different types of specialised cells – skin cells, nerve cells, blood cells and so on. In regenerative medicine, these could be used to replace or repair cells that have been damaged by injury or disease. It’s thought that many potential future treatments may rely on using your own stem cells.

No, it’s highly unlikely that your baby’s own cord blood stem cells would be suitable to treat blood disorders like childhood leukaemia. In fact, the nature of childhood leukaemia means that stem cells from a matched donor (an allogeneic transplant) are more likely to be of use than your child’s own stem cells (an autologous transplant). Increasing the availability of matched units for allogeneic transplants

for anyone who needs them, including your family, is one reason why it’s beneficial to store your baby’s cord blood stem cells in our dual – public and private – bank.

Stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood are used today to treat a number of blood diseases, including leukaemia and anaemia. More interesting though is the potential – early results indicate that cord blood stem cells could have future possibilities in the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Current research includes stem cell treatment for heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, strokes, osteoporosis, skin burns, osteoarthritis and tendon, muscle and ligament injuries.

These are both terms used to describe transplants. An allogeneic transplant involves taking donated stem cells from one person transplanting them to another person. An autologous transplant means that your own cells have been taken and transplanted back to you.

At the moment almost all stem cell transplants are allogeneic, as very few people have stem cells stored for their own use.

It’s dependent on the illness and age of the person. The chances of a person needing an:

• autologous transplant (using their own stem cells) before the age of 20 has been estimated at between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 20,000.
• allogeneic transplant (using donated stem cells) is estimated at between 1 in 1,700 and 1 in 20,000.

Just as everyone has a blood type, so everyone has a tissue type – and stem cells are a type of tissue. The human body is designed to reject anything it sees as foreign, and so it’ll fight off a tissue type it doesn’t recognise. The closer matched tissues types are the less likelihood there is of the body rejecting a transplant.

In a public bank, parents donate their child’s cord blood stem cells in much the same way as people donate blood – it’s all given away for use by other people. No-one is charged for donating cord blood stem cells in the public bank. There’s a public cord blood bank in England operated by the Haemopoietic Stem Cells Services Division of the National Blood Service, and another in Scotland operated by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.

Yes, if there’s a matched unit available. By creating another public bank, Virgin Health Bank is increasing the likelihood of people finding a suitable match. And if regenerative medicine advances as predicted, people may also need access to their own, stored umbilical cord stem cells.

The regulations insist that cord blood is collected by an appropriately qualified person such as a midwife, a nurse or a doctor with suitable training and experience.

Normally, collecting umbilical cord blood is a straightforward process and shouldn’t interfere with looking after the mother and baby. It usually takes 5–10 minutes and should be undertaken within about 30 minutes of the baby’s birth. However the wellbeing of the mother and baby is always the main priority, if there was any possibility that the collection could interfere with the care of either, the collection should not take place.

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the government body that licences companies which store human tissue in the UK, recommend that only appropriately qualified people (such as midwives, nurses, phlebotomists or doctors) may do the collection. If the person doesn’t fit this description, we can't process or store the umbilical cord blood unit. Not all maternity units have the same view about cord blood collection. If you're concerned, give us a call.

No, every birth is uniquely special so there can be no guarantees – the wellbeing of both mother and baby must always take top priority. The collection is a straightforward technique and, in most cases, the cord blood unit is tested and stored successfully. If there is a problem we will get in touch with you straightaway and do everything possible to make sure things go smoothly.

The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible for the authorisation and licensing of private and public banks engaged in the storage of human tissue. In addition the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) run a voluntary accreditation scheme.

Our storage facilities operate to the highest standards – they have MHRA accreditation as a cord blood bank and are licensed by the HTA. This means that our facilities are fully compliant with UK regulations and have been inspected and approved by independent, government-approved experts on cord blood stem cell storage.

If you’d like to know more about these professional bodies, please visit their websites on:

www.hta.gov.uk
www.mhra.gov.uk

We certainly don’t think so. Umbilical cord blood is usually discarded after birth, and cord blood stem cells could never develop into a person so there’s no possibility of harm to anyone or anything. Some people feel that embryonic stem cell research is controversial; cord blood stem cell banking is completely different.