Your Questions Answered
What level of knowledge do I need to discuss cord blood collection with expectant parents?
Information and training can be provided by a Cellsense Healthcare Professional on request, however you only need to provide parents with our brochure which contains our contact details. All expecting parents have the opportunity to visit our website, request a detailed information pack and to call Toll Free to discuss all aspects of the service with trained support specialists.
If the parents wish to proceed with Cellsense cord blood storage, what happens?
Parents will register their intention to store their baby’s cord blood, which requires completion of a medical questionnaire and formal agreements. Although parents have often already informed their midwife or obstetrician of their decision, Cellsense always notifies the relevant medical staff and hospital on their behalf.
A collection kit is dispatched at 35 weeks of pregnancy to be kept with the parents and taken to the hospital at time of the labour.
When should the cord blood be collected?
Cord blood is collected as soon as possible following the clamping and cutting of the cord. This is because the natural clotting process will reduce the amount of blood available for collection.
Slightly higher volumes may be taken when the blood is collect in utero, however ex utero collections are viable if this is your preference.
Does a caesarean section affect the collection process?
The collection process proceeds essentially the same way with a caesarean section as it would in a natural birth.
What happens if there are complications during the delivery?
Cellsense does not want cord blood collection to in any way distract from the well being of the mother and baby. If complications arise, it may be unsafe to take the cord blood and this decision is entirely at your discretion.
Can you state any clinical success with cord blood transplantation
Pediatrics 2007- Case Study
E.M was in a good state of health until at 3 years of age, when she was diagnosed with B-prescursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Complete remission (CR) was achieved after 4 weeks of induction therapy, but early relapse occurred on week 44 of consolidation therapy.
Because of the early relapse, consideration was given to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation
After 3 more cycles of consolidation chemotherapy, informed consent was given by the family, and the patient underwent autologous cord blood transplantation (CBT) while in second CR.
With the possibility that the patient’s leukemia clone may have been present in the cord blood, testing was performed for the detection of the leukemia clone. The cord blood showed no evidence of the same pattern.
UCB was infused without complications and engraftment occurred 15 days later. The girl’s complete blood count had been completely normal up to 4 months post-CBT. The patient did very well after autologous CBT without serious infections, major complications or graft-versus-ho
With an increasing number of families opting for private UCB collection and storage, there is likely to be more cases of autologous UCB transplantation in the future.
For more articles please see our Research Library and our Breaking News sections.
Why does Cellsense store at the SAN?
Sydney Adventist Hospital is a major non-for-profit hospital which has been established for over 100 years. Utilisation of a major leading institute to secure long-term storage of collected cord blood stem cells includes the necessary emergency back-up systems and security features as safe-measures.
As an independent facility to Cellsense, the SAN provides continued storage in the unlikely event that Cellsense went out of business. Clients would not be financially disadvantaged in such an event.
Additionally, prolonged storage beyond the initial 18 years is possible based on the long-standing of the hospital. It is likely that storage fees would be as reasonable given that the SAN is not-for-profit.
The SAN is NATA accreditated.
What are the costs to my patient for this service?
Cellsense offers numerous payment plans which make it possible for your patients to select from a once-off payment and monthly or annual payments. The cost with our Upfront Payment is inclusive of:
• The Cellsense
• Collection of cord blood (inclusive of a Cellsense Representative if required)
• Courier service (24/7)
• Pathology testing
• Storage for 18 years (whilst the child is a minor)