FAQs
What is umbilical cord blood?
What is umbilical cord blood?
Umbilical cord blood is the residual blood of the newly born child, which remains in the placenta and the cord following delivery and cord severance and is therefore no longer required by the baby. As a rule, it is disposed of along with the umbilical cord in the clinic. However, umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells that can be employed for therapeutic purposes.
What can umbilical cord blood be used for?
What can umbilical cord blood be used for?
Umbilical cord blood can either be employed as a generally available donation (unrelated donation), for a blood relation of the child who is already ill (family-oriented donation), or for the own requirements of the child (own storage). Donated stem cell preparations are already in use worldwide for the successful treatment of leukaemia and other serious disorders of the blood-forming system. They therefore represent a genuine alternative to bone marrow transplants. In the case of an existent disorder, a targeted family-oriented, transplant donation can be taken for the sick person (e.g. for a sick niece or nephew) although up to now, stem cells from own storage have only be used in rare cases, e.g. for the treatment of malignant tumours.
What preconditions do I have to fulfil for the extraction of umbilical cord blood?
What preconditions do I have to fulfil for the extraction of umbilical cord blood?
The transplants obtained from umbilical cord blood are regarded as a drug and their preparation is therefore subject to strict legal requirements. Therefore, irrespective of your decision to act as an unrelated donor (URD), make a family-oriented donation or opt for own storage, the umbilical cord blood is extracted exclusively by trained personnel at our partner clinics. Moreover, various formalities have to be dealt with prior to blood removal. For in order to meet the statutory directives and be able to produce a safe drug from your umbilical cord blood, it is necessary that before delivery of the baby you complete carefully and truthfully the supplied questionnaire regarding your family’s medical history and sign the declaration of agreement for the removal, processing, storage and use of the preparation. We would request your understanding for the fact that in some cases the removal of umbilical cord blood is not possible for technical, medical or organisational reasons. In addition, you have the right to withdraw from an umbilical blood donation at any time without any personal disadvantages.
How is the umbilical cord blood extracted?
How is the umbilical cord blood extracted?
In the case of both spontaneous delivery and a Caesarean operation, the umbilical cord blood is first removed by tapping the placenta vein following the birth and the separation of the child. This procedure has no detrimental effects on the delivery whatsoever and is painless and risk-free for both the mother and child. In addition, shortly prior to the birth, a roughly 30ml sample will be taken from your blood. Both the blood of the mother and from the umbilical cord is examined for viruses such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, cytomegalie and HIV. Furthermore, tissue characteristics of relevance to transplants (HLA, blood group) are determined in order to be able to allocate the appropriate donation to a potential recipient. If necessary, additional tests are carried out at a later date (e.g. for genetic diseases). The tested samples of parental and umbilical cord blood are then stored at Vivocell. Should the suspicion of an infection arise during laboratory testing, the mother will be informed personally and immediately by Vivocell’s medical management, or via her named personal physician, and consulted concerning the further course of action.
What happens subsequently to the umbilical cord blood?
What happens subsequently to the umbilical cord blood?
If the donation fulfils the necessary quality requirements, it is transported to the umbilical cord blood bank and processed. This involves the separation of the stem cells from the remaining blood components and their subsequent deep-freezing (cryoconservation) for long-term storage. The entire preparation procedure is subject to the strictest quality controls, which ensure that transplants are always produced and stored according to the latest scientific and technical standards. Unsuitable donations, the remaining blood components that are not needed for transplant preparation and defect products are all disposed of. At your request, we store stem cells for autologous- or allogenous-oriented use and these are made available only to your child or a blood relation. Allogenous stem cell transplants are administered on an anonymous basis in a global donor file and are thus accessible to all potential recipients. Accordingly, with a donation you waive all legal claims to own use and recognise that in the case of need access is only possible under the same conditions as those applying to other patients. Any other use of your donation (e.g. for quality controls or research purposes) requires your separate and express consent.
What happens to my personal data?
What happens to my personal data?
Please understand that in order to assess the suitability of a donation it is necessary to obtain details concerning both you and your family that relate to the private sphere. Access to the documentation regarding the clinical pregnancy and delivery documentation may also be required. All the data and findings established in connection with your umbilical cord blood donation are stored in line with data protection and may only be studied by Vivocell and official inspectors. The sole exception is formed by the legal obligation to report certain infectious diseases (e.g. in the case of rabies). The data of relevance to transplants of umbilical cord blood donations (blood groups, HLA) is rendered anonymous and transferred to national and international registers and transplant centres. We are also obliged to secure a link with the mother and/or the family of the child and the personal physician for the future that extends beyond the date of the umbilical cord blood donation. Prior to the transplant of your donation, we will contact you and again ask about the health of both you and your child. This serves the sustained securing of quality and the exclusion of illnesses, which may have been unknown at the time of the donation.