- If I donate my baby's cord blood, will that child have free access to cord blood for a transplant?
- No. When a mother signs the Informed Consent to donate cord blood, she gives up any guaranteed access to that blood. The blood may not be banked, and if it is banked, it may be released to some one else. There have been cases where families needed their child's cord blood and got it back from a public bank, but it is important to realize there are no guarantees of access to donated cord blood. Cord blood donors also do not receive guarantees of priority treatment or waived fees if your child later needs a donor. The reward for donating cord blood is the possibility that your baby may Be The Match that saves a life.
- How does the Institute of Medicine influence cord blood education?
- Congress commissioned an Institute of Medicine study on the ideal structure of a national cord blood
program. Based on the IoM report, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 that was signed into law 20 Dec. 2005. The key language regarding education is the requirement: Information provided to the maternal donor regard(s) all of her medically appropriate cord blood options. ie: Education of expectant parents and Informed Consent of maternal donors should cover all options, not just donation.
- What questions should parents ask a Family Bank about Laboratory Standards?
- Is the cord blood laboratory accredited by an agency that has specific standards for cord blood banks and conducts inspections? (ex: AABB, FACT, ISO)
- Some US states license cord blood banks (CA, MD, NJ, NY): Do they operate in those states? Note that the California Biologics License is based on AABB accreditation, but lags behind the latest AABB updates.
- Does the lab process cord blood around the clock, or only on selected shifts?
- What tests does the lab perform on maternal blood?
- What tests does the lab perform for infectious disease markers?
- What tests does the lab perform for contamination?
- Does the lab ever reject cord blood collections on the basis of the tests of maternal blood, infectious diseases, or contamination?
- Does the lab maintain a "quarantine tank" for the storage of blood that might be able to transmit an infection?
- What tests does the lab perform to measure the stem cell count of the processed cord blood and the stem cell viability?
- Does the lab/bank inform parents, prior to storage, if the collection is too small for a transplant, and give them the option not to save it?
- Does the lab/bank offer parents a refund if the cord blood collection has certain problems (contamination, low volume)? These refunds are typically only offered if the bank performed the collection as part of their service.
- What information will parents receive in the final report about their stored cord blood?