We’re pretty sure you started scouring out the best nutritionist, pediatrician, and baby care products the moment you got the wonderful news about the arrival of your little one. Of all the difficult decisions that you will have to make during this time, there is one that stands out as a way to protect the long-term health of your baby: whether or not to bank your newborn’s cord blood at birth. This can be an overwhelming decision considering the medical, ethical, and financial considerations that have to be made. However, cord blood banking is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can safeguard your family’s future health.

But, the biggest question remains whether to bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood in a public or private cord blood bank. It is thus important to understand the differences between both the services and choose the one that best aligns with your needs. In this blog, we will take you through these options and introduce you to a unique approach that combines the benefits of both: LifeCell’s community banking model. Let’s get started.

Understanding Cord Blood Banking

Cord blood banking refers to the collection and freezing of the umbilical cord blood as soon as a child is born. This blood contains HSCs or hematopoietic stem cells, which can transform into any type of blood cell. The US FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) currently approves the use of these stem cells for treating around 80+ medical conditions such as blood cancers, metabolic disorder & immune deficiency. 

What Is Public Stem Cell Banking?

Public cord blood banking involves donating your baby’s cord blood to a public bank, which would prove to be useful for patients in need of a stem cell transplant. The donation process is free, and the cord blood can be accessed by patients across the world through stem cell registries. 

Benefits 

• Free Of Charge: Donating to a public bank does not cost parents anything.
• Supporting Medical Research: It can contribute to lifesaving treatments or even be used in future medical research that could further advance stem cell therapies.
• Assistance For Others: Public donations may bring hope to families not enrolled in private banking who are searching for a stem cell match for transplantation.

Disadvantages: 

• No Personal Access: Your family cannot access the cord blood in case it is required in the future. It’s available in the public pool and can be accessed on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Minimal Availability: Not all hospitals or areas have facilities to collect public cord blood donations.

Now let’s understand private stem cell banking and how it works.  

What Is Private Banking?

Private cord blood banking charges fees and grants families the exclusive rights over the cord blood stem cells of their baby. Since they store it in a private bank, they have access to stem cells when they might need them for future medical treatments. However, in India, families are advised by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) to store their baby’s cord blood stem cells in public banks rather than private ones. This is because the likelihood for the baby to require autologous (self-donated) stem cells is less than 0.04%. Also, currently autologous cord stem cells cannot be used for the treatment of metabolic disorders, hematological cancers or genetic diseases. 

Benefits: 

• Exclusive Ownership: You retain exclusive ownership of your baby’s cord blood, ensuring it is available for your family’s use whenever needed.
• Family Matching: The cord blood would be an exact genetic match for your baby and gives better prospects of a match for siblings or other relatives.
• Future Potential: As regenerative medicine continues to advance, the potential uses of stem cells in treatment options are expected to increase.

Cons: 

• Cost: Private banking charges a one-time collection fee and annual storage fees which may not fit all family budgets.
• Likelihood Of Use: Your family’s chances of needing the stored cord blood are statistically low, but it may change with new advances in medical treatment.

After learning about both private and public banking systems, we now need to understand that the best option is a combination of both – LifeCell’s Community Stem Cell Banking. This gives the privilege of a private bank, while also providing common pool sharing of a public bank. Let us learn how:

What Is LifeCell Community Banking & Why To Consider It?

For families who could not decide on public versus private banking, LifeCell provides an innovative solution in the form of community cord blood banking. This model offers the benefit of both public and private stem cell banking. It builds a shared pool of cord blood units where each family contributes their baby’s cord blood to the community bank but still retains exclusive rights to access matching units when needed.

Advantages Of LifeCell’s Community Banking

• Huge Inventory

LifeCell has an inventory of over 75K qualified & consented cord blood units (whereas a public inventory has 6500 stored units).

• Better Chance Of Identifying A Suitable Ethnic Match

As per experts, for an Indian patient to get over 97% chance of getting a donor match, the size of the inventory should be at least 50,000 cord blood units 9. With over 75K qualified & consented cord blood available units, LifeCell improves the chances of finding a match, particularly for individuals of Indian ethnicity. 

• Comprehensive Protection for The Family

LifeCell’s community stem cell banking program also offers protection to the immediate family members, including parents, siblings, and grandparents. Additionally, with its add-on like Family Floater you can extend the benefit of stem cell banking to the siblings of the parents.

It’s A Wrap!

The greatest priority for any expectant parents is to ensure the long-term health and well-being of their baby. One of the most precious steps you can take in safeguarding their future health is to bank their umbilical cord blood at birth, which is a source of life-saving stem cells. In India, you usually have two options available to bank your baby’s stem cells: private banking and public stem cell banking. Understanding the difference between these two will guide you making an informed decision. 

Public donation is free of cost and altruistic, on the other hand, private banking gives you exclusive access for your family’s future medical needs. This is where LifeCell steps in offering a unique solution combining the benefits of both the services through its community stem cell banking program. It presents a creative and exclusive model in protecting one’s own future health while contributing to a shared pool that may help others in need.