Cord blood and tissue banking have become extremely popular in recent years. New parents are becoming increasingly concerned about their child’s future health and well-being and are investing in biological insurance for their children.

Cord blood and cord tissue preservation help in collecting and preserving life-saving stem cells that are made available for future transplants.

The cord blood is collected, processed, and cryogenically frozen to ensure its viability in case of future medical emergencies. The entire process is called the cord blood and cord tissue processing method.

The cord blood and processing begin by testing the mother’s blood, as per the federal guidelines. This helps in identifying any infection and diseases. After the cord blood is received it is tested in small portions to ensure quality and sterility.

The cord blood is then mixed with the processing agent to separate it into its different constituents like white blood cells, red blood cells, cord blood, and plasma. The objective is to reduce the number of red blood cells.

The processed cord blood is cryogenically frozen to maintain its viability for future medical usage. You will be surprised to know that doctors try to reduce the number of red blood cells in the cord blood and tissue banking process. Red blood cells can cause complications during the treatment and hence doctors try to limit the red blood cells to reduce such risk.

The cord blood is separated into layers of RBCs plasma and in-between layers called buffy layers. The buffy layers contain the white blood cells and stem cells. The cord blood processing method helps in separating cord blood in these layers.

The processing method used by most cord blood banks is Auto Xpress (AXP). AXP is an automated cord blood method that was launched in 2006.

It lowers the cost of processing cord blood and limits the need for human intervention. It follows the optical detection method to separate the constituents in separate containers.

As the method is automated and reduces human effort, it also results in an overlap of the layers. Hence, to acquire more white blood cells, it must collect more red blood cells.

Limiting the number of red blood cells will reduce the number of white blood cells which is not a desirable situation. Therefore, the final product contains more red blood cells, which could be a drawback for this cord blood and tissue banking method.

Apart from AXP, other methods used for cord blood processing are Prepacyte-CB, HES, and Sepax. The yield of the process depends on the type of method used.

With affordable cord blood banking at $19.99, you can store the cord blood of your child and use it in case of future medical usage.