A cord blood bank is a place where cord blood is stored safely for the future use.

Cord blood is a very valuable resource and therefore many public and private cord blood banks have been set up to save and effectively harness its value. Collection of cord blood is a lengthy process and is done in various steps.

First step in this task is collection of cord blood. This has to be done within 10 minutes of giving birth. The blood is collected after the umbilical cord is cut and can only be extracted from the fetal end of the cord.

Then the collected blood is tested for various viral infections like Hepatitis B and C and also for HIV. After the testing the blood is then shipped to the cord blood bank for keeping it there safely until the need arises.

Before storing the blood it is processed first to extract the stem cells from the red blood cells. For this process several options are available while some methods separate the red blood cells from stem cells while some methods keep red blood cells and separate stem cells from the blood. After the processing of the cord blood comes the turn of its safe storage.

The blood is stored using the technique of cryopreservation and if done properly the blood can be stored for a very long time. For the cryopreservation a cryopreservant is added to the blood which allows the cells to withstand the low temperature.

After addition the blood unit is cooled slowly to a temperature of -90 Celsius and after this it is kept in a tank containing liquid nitrogen and is stored at a temperature of -196 Celsius. Due to the slow cooling and freezing process the cells stay alive even in this low temperature.

Special measures have to be taken for the proper preservation as if done wrong can lead to freezing of stem cells. Sometimes dimethyl sulfoxide is used to assist in the cryopreservation process. Also slow and controlled cooling is very important to make the process a successful one.

For proper storage and safe keeping of the cord blood organizations like FDA have been set up which governs the whole process of collection, processing, storage, packaging, labeling and distribution of the cord blood. Even two standards have been set up.

These standards are cGTP (current good tissue practices) and cGMP (current good manufacturing practices). Out of these it is a necessity for all the blood banks to be compliant with cGTP standards. While the cGMP standards are basically concerned with the manufacturing of drugs.

Today cord blood cells can easily be used to save one’s life that is why they hold such a value in today’s world. While using proper techniques and method the blood can be saved for a infinite amount of time and at the same time if one is being careless in handling of the blood can destroy the blood immediately.

This can prove very costly especially when the time comes for saving someone’s life. Therefore special care and precautions should be taken while dealing with the cord blood.

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