If you decide to save your baby's cord blood, you will need to decide whether you want it stored in a public or a private cord blood bank. Cord blood banks have been growing in number since about 1995. The success of cord blood transplants was the main reason. The first cord blood transplant was performed on a child in 1988. After that, the National Institute of Health awarded money for beginning the first National Cord Blood bank (NYCP) in New York.
Cord blood banking is still in the early stages and not exactly a wide-spread practice just yet. The cord blood is stored through the method of cryopreservation. Due to the new nature of cord blood collection, the long-term viability of the frozen cord blood has not been tested.
After collection of the cord blood, the samples must be immediately shipped to a cord blood bank. Cord blood banks will check the blood for infectious agents. The tissue-type will also be determined.
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