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| When is Cord Blood Collected? |
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When is the Cord Blood collected?
The cord blood is usually collected by the doctor
or the midwife after the birth of the baby. Once
the baby has been delivered and the cord has been
cut, the blood is taken from the cord, and then
the placenta is delivered as normal.
Occasionally for medical reasons the placenta needs
to be delivered, however the blood can still be
taken from it after delivery. In a few hospitals
it is policy that the placenta is delivered and
then the blood collected by a |
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Cellsense representative.
How is the Cord Blood collected?
The blood is taken using a sterile collecting set.
A needle is gently inserted into the vein in the
cord. The blood drains into the bag by gravity and
the whole process takes about 1-2 minutes.
Is there any pain or risk to either the
Mother or the Baby?
The safety of both mother and baby are always put
first. However there is no pain or risk involved
in the procedure. The baby has already been detached
from the cord, so there is no risk or pain to the
baby.
There is also no pain to the mother, and no risk
as the collection is very quick and done prior to
delivery of the placenta, if however the placenta
needs to be delivered quickly, the blood can be
collected after it has been delivered. It does not
make any difference if there is a vacuum or forceps
delivery.
What about if the baby is born by Caesarian?
This does not create a problem. The sterile collecting
set is double wrapped so that it can be used in
the operating theatre. The blood is usually collected
by the doctor, after the birth of the baby and after
the cord has been cut, but before delivery of the
placenta. However it can also be collected after
the placenta has been delivered.
What if there are twins or other multiple
births?
Multiple births do not create a problem. It is recommended
that a collection be taken from each baby, as they
may have different tissue type, as well as which
more stem cells will be collected. Please be aware
that with Cellsense twin (or multiple) births are
discounted and it does not cost double the price
of a single collection.
When does the cord need to be cut?
The cord is cut as normal after delivery. However
if parents want to delay cutting the cord until
the pulsation has stopped, this is also possible.
Parents should be aware that in this case there
will be less blood and less stem cells in the collection.
Therefore it is a personal decision for a family
to make.
If the baby is born early or is very small, this
means there is less blood in the cord; therefore
waiting for the cord to stop pulsating could mean
there is not enough blood to process for the collection
of stem cells. Again this will need to be a personal
decision for the parents to make.
What if the baby is born prematurely?
Usually the collection kit is sent out at 35 weeks.
This is because prior to 35 weeks there is a greater
chance that there will not be enough blood in the
cord to process for stem cells. We need a minimum
of 20mls of cord blood. However we have had clients
who have had premature babies, and being fully informed
of this, chose to go ahead and have a collection.
Therefore we have had collections from births between
32 and 35 weeks and they have had sufficient volumes
of blood to process and store the stem cells from.
Why is blood taken from the Mother?
The mother’s blood is taken to be tested for
viruses. Some viruses, such as HIV will prevent
the cord blood being stored. However not all viruses
will preclude the stem cells being stored and used.
What happens to the stem cells after they
have been collected?
Once the cord blood has been collected, anticoagulant
is added to prevent the blood clotting. It is then
packed in a temperature stabilizing unit and sealed
in the box. Once the company is informed the blood
is ready for collection, we organize a medical courier
to take it to the laboratory. The packaging is designed
to prevent the blood getting too hot and there is
a microchip to log the temperature which gives us
a record of the temperature in transit. The blood
has 36 hours to get to the laboratory in Sydney.
What if I live in the country or somewhere
remote?
The blood has 36 hours to get to the laboratory,
so we are able to do collections from anywhere in
the country and get them to the laboratory within
this time.
What happens at the laboratory?
At the laboratory the stem cells are separated from
the rest of the blood, which is discarded. A protective
mixture is added to prevent damage to the cells
from freezing. The blood is tested for contamination
during the collection process. There is only a very
small risk of contamination of the blood and it
does not necessarily prevent storage and use of
the stem cells. |
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| ©
Copyright 2006 Cell Sense Pty Ltd - - - |
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